To find a deceased person’s will, work through five places in order: the home, the attorney who drafted it, the probate court in the county where the person lived, any bank safe deposit box, and their digital records. Probate courts generally require the original signed document to open an estate, so the search matters and it matters quickly. If the original never surfaces, most courts presume the deceased destroyed it on purpose, and the estate falls into default state inheritance rules instead of following the deceased person’s wishes.
Start at the Home
Look first where people naturally keep important paperwork. Fireproof safes, locked filing cabinets, and desk drawers are the most common spots. Check folders labeled with legal, financial, or insurance terms. Look on closet shelves, at the backs of dresser drawers, and between books. Some people tuck legal documents into hiding places they considered secure but no one else would think of.
Watch for a “letter of instruction.” This is an informal note some people leave alongside or in place of a will. It is not legally binding and no court will enforce it, but it often names the attorney who drafted the will, says where the original is stored, and lists other key records like insurance policies and account numbers. Finding one can end the search on the first afternoon.
While you are looking, collect every piece of correspondence from law firms, banks, financial advisors, and insurance companies. Even when none of it is the will, it maps out the professional relationships that will lead you to whoever holds the original.
Contact the Attorney Who Drafted It
The drafting lawyer is one of the most likely custodians. Many estate planning attorneys keep originals in an office vault or secure storage and return only copies to the client. Check the deceased person’s financial records for payments to law firms, and look through address books and email contacts for attorney names. Accountants and financial advisors who worked with the deceased rarely hold the will themselves, but they often know who drafted it. Expect them to ask for a death certificate before they discuss anything.
If the attorney retired, died, or merged their practice, the trail gets harder. Attorneys have an ethical obligation to protect client files during practice transitions, but no universal rule requires a successor firm to keep those files forever. In practice, files may be transferred to a successor practice, returned to clients, or destroyed after a reasonable period. When the original firm no longer exists, contact your state bar association’s lawyer referral service. Many state bars keep records of practice closures and can help identify where the files went.
Search Court Registries
Some people deposit their will with a local court for safekeeping while they are still alive. The office that accepts these filings goes by different names depending on where the deceased lived: Register of Wills, Surrogate’s Court, or Probate Court are the common ones. Start with the county where the deceased maintained their primary residence.
Many of these courts run a registry of wills filed for safekeeping, meaning documents deposited before the person died. You can request a search in person or, increasingly, through an online portal. Fees are generally modest. If the will has already been submitted to probate, the court clerk can usually issue a certified copy.
Beyond local courts, the U.S. Will Registry maintains a national database where attorneys and individuals can register a will’s location. You search by name, date of birth, and state of residence. A match tells you where the will is stored, whether that is a law firm, a bank, or a home safe. Only people the registrant authorized can see the location details.
Open a Safe Deposit Box
Banks are a common storage choice, but getting into someone else’s box after their death is a specific legal process. Showing up with a key is not enough.
Most states have laws allowing limited access to a safe deposit box solely to search for a will or burial instructions, even before anyone has been formally appointed executor. Typical requirements include a certified death certificate, government-issued identification, and often the key. A bank employee supervises the opening and inventories what is inside. You can take the will and any burial-related documents. Everything else stays in the box until a court grants formal authority over the estate.
If the key is missing, the bank will have the box drilled by a locksmith at the requester’s expense. Drilling fees start around $150 and can run higher depending on the box and the bank’s policies. The cost is usually reimbursable from the estate later, but you pay first.
Search Digital Records
Even when the will is a paper document, the deceased person’s digital life often points to where it lives. Search their email for terms like “will,” “estate plan,” “testament,” or the names of any law firms you have already identified. Cloud storage platforms such as Google Drive and Dropbox may hold scanned copies or drafts that name the attorney.
Check the local computer too. A scanned PDF will not satisfy probate as a substitute for the original, but it confirms the document exists, shows when it was created, and often identifies the firm that prepared it. That alone can cut days off the rest of the search.
Online estate planning platforms have become more common. If the deceased used one, login credentials in their email, a browser’s saved passwords, or a password manager may get you in. Some of these services also run their own inactivity alerts that notify designated contacts.
What to Do Once You Find It
Finding the will creates an immediate legal obligation. Under the version of the Uniform Probate Code adopted by many states, anyone with custody of a will must deliver it within 30 days of learning the testator has died, either to someone who can file it for probate or directly to the appropriate court. Willfully failing to do so exposes you to liability for damages caused by the delay and to contempt if a judge orders you to produce the document.
Intentionally hiding, destroying, or suppressing a will is a criminal offense in most states. The specific charge and penalty vary, but it commonly falls under fraud-related statutes and can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or felony depending on the jurisdiction and the value of the estate. Anyone harmed by the suppression can also sue for civil damages. Even if you dislike what the will says, you have no legal right to make it disappear.
If the Original Never Turns Up
If the original was last known to be in the deceased person’s possession and cannot be found, courts in most states presume the person destroyed it intentionally and therefore revoked it. The presumption is not absolute. Someone who believes the will still reflects the deceased person’s wishes can challenge it, but that person carries the burden of proving with clear and convincing evidence that the will was not revoked during the testator’s lifetime.
Probating a lost will is possible but hard. Courts typically require testimony from someone who read the original or a copy, a photocopy or other reproduction if one exists, and a satisfactory explanation for why the original is missing. Requirements vary by state, and some states are more receptive to lost will petitions than others. Bring the copy if that is all you have, but expect the court to scrutinize it.
No revocation presumption arises when the evidence shows the deceased never had the original after signing it. If the attorney kept it all along and it went missing from the firm’s files, courts are much more willing to treat the will as valid based on a copy or witness testimony.
When no valid will can be established, the estate passes through intestate succession. Assets go to surviving family members in a priority order set by state law, usually starting with a surviving spouse and children. If no relatives can be found, the assets ultimately go to the state. Intestacy rarely matches what the deceased actually wanted, which is why the search matters.
If You Find More Than One
Finding several versions is common. The rule is simple: the most recently dated, validly executed will controls. Most wills open with a revocation clause stating that all prior wills and codicils are revoked, which removes any ambiguity about earlier versions.
A codicil is a formal amendment to an existing will. It changes specific provisions without replacing the whole document, and when properly signed and witnessed it carries the same legal weight as the will itself. If you find a will together with one or more codicils, send all of them to the probate court so the judge can read them as a set.
When two wills conflict and neither contains a clear revocation clause, the court reads them together and treats the later will as overriding only the provisions that directly contradict the earlier one. Non-conflicting terms from the older will may still stand. If a genuine dispute exists about which version is valid, the court holds a hearing and considers evidence about capacity and the circumstances of each document’s creation. Gather every version you find and let the probate court sort out the rest.