The court retains the original
will only in situations where the decedent has passed away and their executor
has asked for a grant of probate. Legally, the estate of a deceased individual
does not always have to apply for probate.
As soon as a will is filed with
the court, it becomes public knowledge. Anybody can view the will in the file
by paying a fee. If you want to see if a request for probate has been made, you
can utilize the website's civil file search. If you look up the deceased's name
with exact spelling required and find no files, it's unlikely that probate or
any other grant has been requested or accepted.
Which of the searches are
allowed and which are not
You can find online wills that
were filed with letters of administration or as part of a probate application.
Nevertheless, we are unable to
establish whether a will is the most recent version.
Furthermore, if letters of
administration or probate
registry online have been requested but not yet granted, we
cannot guarantee the legality of the will at that time.
Search for a will
To find a will with probate,
letters of administration with the will, grant application probate, letters of
administration with the will, or letters of administration on intestacy: Scroll down to "Party details" and
enter the name of the dead in the respective fields using the same spelling as
any previously filed applications. Choose "Deceased" from the
dropdown menu to narrow the search.
This could give you details on
the kind of grant you asked for, if it was granted, when it was submitted, its
file number, and the applicant's name administrator or executor. It's possible
that the will or documents you're seeking for haven't been filed with the court
if you don't hear back.