Part 2
Locating the will and financial records
If you have been named as an executor in someone’s will, they should have told you where the document is being kept so that you can start the probate process quickly. If not, there are several ways that you can search for it.
First, you should check their property for a physical document. Many people keep their will alongside other important documents in a filing cabinet or a safe. If you find a copy of the will, check whether it was written with a solicitor or a bank and contact them to ensure that the copy you have is the original document. If it is not, you should ask them to send you the original will. In a similar vein, if you cannot find a copy of the will but you know which organisation or individual it was written with, you should contact them and ask for its whereabouts. Failing this, you might be able to search the deceased’s wallet or emails to find out which bank they used.
If you are unable to find the will anywhere and you don’t know which organisation it was written with, you can check with the Principal Registry of the Family Division or with Certainty, which is a National Will Register that can be paid to look for your loved one’s will.
If you cannot find a will after following these steps, it is possible that there is no will. In this case, you should apply for a grant of letters of administration rather than a grant of probate. This means that, instead of dividing the estate according to a will, the deceased’s assets would be distributed according to the rules of intestacy. Whoever is determined to be owed the most assets is usually responsible for dealing with the application and the estate.
Once you have found the will – or determined that there is no will – you should start gathering details about the value of your loved one’s estate. You can look for financial records that specify how much debt and tax were owed before their death, the value of any gifts given by the deceased in the seven years before their death, the value of their shareholdings, investments, pensions, and bank accounts, as well as any life insurance policies that you might be able to claim on. The easiest way to do this is by contacting each relevant organisation. Usually, you will need to send them a death certificate to access the information that you need. After the organisations are aware of the death and have detailed the assets, they will freeze them until the grant of probate or grant of letters of administration has been approved.
