How to Find a Will After Someone Dies UK (2026)

When someone dies, locating their will is one of the first tasks for the family and executor. In England and Wales, there is no single government will register — the will could be at home, with a solicitor, at a bank, or registered on a commercial database. This guide walks through every search step in order.

Step 1 — Search the home

Most people store their will at home. Common locations:

• A fireproof safe or lockbox
• A filing cabinet or folder labelled “important documents”
• Among other financial documents (mortgage deeds, insurance policies)
• A desk drawer or bedside cabinet

Also look for a letter of instructions or a note pointing to where the will is stored. Many people leave a document titled “in the event of my death” that lists the will’s location, their executor’s contact details, and their wishes for the funeral.

Important: only the original, signed document is legally valid. A photocopy or a saved document on a computer is not sufficient to prove a will in England and Wales.

Step 2 — Contact the deceased’s solicitor

If the deceased used a solicitor to write or store their will, the solicitor should hold the original in safe custody. Check:

• Address books, email contacts, or correspondence for a solicitor’s name.
• Bank statements for payments to a law firm.
• The Law Society’s Find a Solicitor tool (solicitors.lawsociety.org.uk) to locate a firm by name if you know it.

Solicitors are bound by confidentiality during a client’s lifetime. After death, they can disclose the existence of a will to the executor or immediate family members. They will usually ask for a certified copy of the death certificate before releasing the document.

Step 3 — Search the National Will Register

The National Will Register (operated by Certainty, willregister.co.uk) is a commercial database of voluntarily registered wills. Registration is optional — not all solicitors use it — but it is the largest will register in the UK and holds millions of entries.

A Will Search costs approximately £95–£150 and returns a report of any registered wills or codicils for the deceased. The search also checks:

• The Certainty National Will Register
• The WDRS (Will Depository & Registration Service)
• Other participating will storage providers

If a will is found, the register confirms which solicitor or storage provider holds the original. It does not automatically release the document — you still need to contact the holder.

Step 4 — Contact banks and financial institutions

Some banks offer will storage as an add-on service for current account holders. Contact the deceased’s main bank(s) and any banks where they held savings accounts to ask:

• Whether they hold a will in safe custody
• Whether the deceased registered a will storage service

You will need to provide a death certificate and your own ID. Most banks will confirm will storage status even without a Grant of Probate, because locating the will is a prerequisite for obtaining the Grant.

Step 5 — Check with will-writing companies

If the deceased used a specialist will-writing company (rather than a solicitor), that company may hold the original. Check correspondence, receipts, or emails for the company name. Many will-writing companies offer storage as part of their service.

Step 6 — Apply for a Probate Registry standing search

A standing search (HMCTS form PA1S, fee £3) is a formal request to the Probate Registry to notify you if a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration is issued for a named person within the next 6 months. You can renew a standing search for a further 6 months.

This is useful if:

• You are concerned that the estate is being administered without your knowledge.
• You are an Inheritance Act claimant who wants to know when the Grant is issued (you have 6 months from the Grant to issue a claim).
• You believe a will may exist but cannot locate it.

Note: a standing search does not reveal the contents of a will before a Grant is issued. Once a Grant is issued, the will becomes a public document and anyone can obtain a copy for £1.50.

Step 7 — Search the Probate Registry (after a Grant is issued)

Once a Grant of Probate has been issued, any will proved in England and Wales is a public record. You can:

• Search online at the HMCTS Probate Search tool (gov.uk/search-will-probate) for free — records go back to 1858.
• Order a copy of the will for £1.50 (digital) or £10 (postal).

This is particularly useful for genealogy research or if you are checking the terms of an estate being administered by someone else.

Step 8 — Check safe deposit boxes

Some people store their will in a bank safe deposit box. To access a deceased person’s safe deposit box, most banks require at least a death certificate and will need to supervise the opening. In some cases, a bank will open a box solely to check for a will — even before a Grant of Probate is obtained — because the will is needed to identify who the executor is.

What happens if no will is found?

If a thorough search finds no will, the estate passes under the intestacy rules set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925. The key outcomes:

• A surviving spouse or civil partner inherits personal possessions and the first £322,000 (2026 statutory legacy). The remainder is split equally.
• Unmarried partners receive nothing, regardless of the length of the relationship.
• Children inherit equally after the spouse’s share.
• If there is no spouse and no children, the estate passes to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives.

To administer an intestate estate, the next of kin applies for Letters of Administration (not a Grant of Probate) from the Probate Registry. The process is similar to probate.

How to make sure your own will can be found

The most common reason wills cannot be found after death is that the testator did not tell anyone where it was stored. Best practice:

1. Tell your executor exactly where the original will is stored.
2. Leave a “letter of instructions” in a visible place pointing to the will’s location.
3. Register your will with the National Will Register — a one-off fee of approximately £30–£95, which creates a permanent record of where the will is held.
4. Store it in a safe, dry location — not with your solicitor’s original firm if they have retired or merged without notifying you.
5. Review your storage arrangements every 5–10 years.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• How to store a will safely in the UK
• What to do when someone dies — the first 30 days
• What happens if you die without a will?
• Letters of administration explained
• Executor duties checklist