How to Find a Last Will and Testament

If you want to acquire a copy of a will for legal purposes or just out of curiosity, you might be able to get access to it simply by asking for it.

Situations sometimes come up when you need to acquire a copy of a last will and testament. For example, possibly you’re looking to establish if you were named as a beneficiary in your late grandmothers’ will, or you’re performing genealogy research and verifying details via your ancestors’ wills. Despite whether it’s for legal or personal reasoning, you are going to need to figure out how to locate a will in the first place.

How to obtain a copy of a will is going to depend on the legal standing of the will, in addition to its location. This post is going to cover some of the various ways to “hunt” down a copy of the document, from investigating public records to getting a hold of the county clerk’s office.

Are wills public record?

A lot of official documents are public record, which means a government office retains them accessible and makes them obtainable to the public. For instance, real estate sales, arrest reports, marriage and divorce records, court case files and birth certificates are all public record.

So, in short: Yes, wills are public record, however, usually only after the will has gone through probate. Meaning a will is only available to the public once the testator (the individual who devised it) passes away and their assets have been allocated. Having said that, local and state laws vary moderately on how probate works and when precisely a will goes into public record.

Whereas information such as the testator’s beneficiaries are going to be available to the public, many details may be redacted for confidentiality concerns—like social security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and financial information such as financial institution account numbers.

After the will has gone into public record, anybody can go to the county court and request a copy of it.

How to find a will in public records at no cost

First, the next part of this post is going to go over how to locate the will of a deceased individual online. There are a lot of online resources available, however, if you’re on a budget you are most likely wondering how to find out if a will exists at no cost.

Whereas many resources may charge a fee, the below are some instances of ways to carry out an online search and access a will at no cost:

County government website. Many states and counties place probate documents online. Locate the official website of the county clerk’s office in which the will was prepared to establish if they have a website portal for the access of wills and probate cases.

State Chronicles. Many states provide online chronicles of historical records. For instance, the Arizona State Library keeps vital records, comprising of probate court case documents and wills, from the year 1915.

Public library databases. A lot of public libraries offer subscriptions to databases and e-resources, usually including wills and probate records. Go to your local library’s website to establish what kind of digital archives they provide.

Public access databases. The USGenWeb® Project and FamilySearch are public resources that collect historical and genealogical records such as wills.

National Archives and Records Administration. NARA is a government bureau that sustains public records, such as wills. You can search their records and put in an order for one. Whereas it’s free to peruse the records, the bureau does charge a fee to acquire a record.

How to acquire a will from probate court

Should you be wondering how you can acquire a copy of a deceased individual’s will from probate court, there is a process to follow. After the testator has passed way, when that will has been filed with the probate court in the county the deceased lived in, it becomes public record.

After the will becomes public record, you can usually access it at the local court by following these steps:

1. Establish where the probate was filed

Foremost, you must establish where the estate planning paperwork and probate were filed. Whereas the executor can provide you with this information, the documents are typically at the local court in the county where the individual was living at the moment of their passing.

2. Acquire the court file number

The best method to observe the will is to acquire the probate court file’s number. The executor can provide you with this information. You might also be able to access the file’s number in person at the court of law, by cell phone/ telephone, or on-line by providing the deceased’s name and the date of their passing. Many courts don’t even require the date of death and have an online list you can search by name.

3. Contact the county clerk’s office

Head to the courthouse with the file’s number and ask a court clerk to examine the file. You could either request to view it or acquire a certified reproduction. A certified reproduction of a will is documentation that is going to be stamped and certified by the court clerk to be a literal copy of the legal document. Acquiring a reproduction of a will is achievable by paying a reproduction fee, which is typically only a minimal fee.

If you reside out of town or are unable to visit in person, many courts will furnish you with a copy by fax machine or mail of a will on file.

What if you’re searching for a will that wasn’t filed not long ago? It might be possible to go through the court’s archives for a copy of a will from long ago. The clerk is going to tell you how to accomplish this. The will could be on microfilm or in an electronic version for viewing. After you locate them, you can acquire copies from the clerk.

How to locate a physical copy of a deceased individual’s will

When there is a registered will on file, the court is going to have access to vital details such as who it’s for and where it can be found. Nevertheless, if a family member passes away and there is no will with the probate court or with their estate planning lawyer, you are going to need to locate the will by yourself.

Who retains the original copy of a will? Usually, the original copy is at the deceased individual’s premises, with their executor, or at their attorney’s office.

Foremost, get a hold the deceased’s executor and/ or attorney to check if they have a copy of the will or know where to locate it. When they don’t, you should investigate the testator’s home safe, safety deposit box, files, and any storage areas or hiding places in which the deceased kept important documents, like under floorboards or under mattresses.

Examine their computer, external hard drives, and e-mail accounts, as they might have devised a digital copy of it. You might also think about asking the deceased individual’s trusted friends, partner, or other relatives if they have information concerning the will’s precise location.

Your family member may have visited an attorney you have no knowledge of, so be on the lookout for letterheads or business cards from law firms and call to verify with those firms.

Choose the Right Lawyer in Arizona

Regardless of the choice you make, it’s important you make the best choice for you when hiring an attorney. Remember: The decisions you make now can affect your future. Ultimately, choosing the best attorney will depend on which lawyer feels best for you and your situation.

If you want to learn about Michelle N. Ogborne and see if she is the right attorney to represent you in Arizona, contact us today!