How to get a Copy of a Will

How to get a copy of a will

How you get a copy of a will depends on one thing: whether probate has been granted yet.

• After probate is granted, the will becomes a public document. Anyone can order a copy from GOV.UK, whether or not they are a relative or beneficiary.
• Before probate is granted, the will is private. Only the executor is entitled to it, and you may first need to find out where it is kept.

Getting a copy after probate has been granted

Once a grant of probate is issued in England or Wales, the Probate Registry keeps the will on public record. You can search the records for free on the GOV.UK probate search service using the person’s full name and the year they died. A copy of the grant, and the will if there is one, costs £16 online. If you can’t pay online, you can apply by post using form PA1S for the same fee, with a reply in about four weeks.

A few things to know before you search:

• New grants take around 14 days to appear online.
• Records are filed under the year the grant was issued, not the year of death, so try the following year too.
• A result marked “Administration” usually means there was no will, and the estate was dealt with under the rules of intestacy.
• Wills proved in Scotland and Northern Ireland are held separately and are not on the England and Wales service.

Before probate: using a standing search

If probate hasn’t been granted yet, you can use form PA1S to ask the Probate Registry to send you a copy of the grant and will if one is issued within the next six months. This is called a standing search. It costs £4 and can be extended.

If you are the executor and a solicitor holds the will

Many people leave their original will with the solicitor or will writer who drafted it. As executor, you are entitled to the original, because you need it to apply for probate. Beneficiaries do not have the same right before the grant. Our guide to requesting the original will from a solicitor explains what to ask for, what ID you’ll need and how long it usually takes.

How to find a will that can’t be located

If nobody knows where the will is, work through these steps and keep a record of each one. That record matters later.

1. Search the home. Check safes, filing cabinets, drawers, lofts and spare rooms. If you are an executor but not family, speak to the family before searching.
2. Ask family and friends whether the person made a will and where they might have kept it.
3. Contact solicitors. Start with any firm the person used, then local firms. If a firm has closed, the Solicitors Regulation Authority can tell you who took over its files.
4. Ask banks and financial institutions. Some people keep their will in a bank’s safe custody. It can be released to the named executor.
5. Search the National Will Register. The National Will Register, run by Certainty, records where registered wills are stored, not the wills themselves. You’ll need a death certificate to search, and fees depend on the type of search.
6. Use a professional. A probate research company can search solicitors’ and will writers’ records nationally and locally.

What happens if no will can be found

If a thorough search turns up neither the original nor a copy, the estate is administered as if the person died without a will, under the rules of intestacy. Where you suspect a will exists but can’t find it, administrators can take out missing will insurance. The insurer will expect evidence that you carried out the searches above.

What happens if a will turns up later

If a will is found after the estate has been dealt with under intestacy, the beneficiaries named in it can claim against the administrators and against anyone who received assets. The executors named in the will can ask the court to revoke the letters of administration and apply for a new grant of probate.

Administrators can be personally liable for assets already distributed. The court can relieve them of liability under section 61 of the Trustee Act 1925 if they acted honestly and reasonably. A documented, thorough search is the best evidence of that. Missing will insurance, if taken out, covers the cost of redistributing the estate.

Probate Help and Support

If you are going through the process of probate and need help and support on any aspect you will find what you need on this website. You can obtain legal probate advice by requesting a consultation or find service providers for everything from probate researchers to probate loan providers in the probate services business directory.