If you can't find someone's will after they die, here are the main places to look: at home with their important papers; with any solicitor or will-writer who drafted it; at their bank; or in a will-storage service. You can also search the National Will Register. And if probate has been granted, you can order a copy from GOV.UK.
Where to look, in order
- 1
Start at home
Check their important paperwork, filing, a safe or a fireproof box — most wills are kept at home.
- 2
Contact their solicitor or will-writer
If a professional drafted it, they often hold the original or know exactly where it is.
- 3
Ask their bank
Some people store a will with their bank, or the bank may know who is holding it.
- 4
Search the National Will Register
A Will Search can locate a registered will, or notify solicitors who may be holding one.
- 5
Check GOV.UK Find a will
If probate has already been granted, the will is public — you can order a copy for a small fee.
Searching a quiet house late at night for a document you're not even sure exists is a horrible feeling. Take a breath. Wills turn up far more often than people fear, and there's a clear order to work through. You don't have to find it all tonight, and you don't have to do it alone. This guide walks you through it, one calm step at a time. If a step doesn't apply, move on to the next.
Start at home with their papers
Most wills are kept at home, tucked in with the other important documents. Look where someone would naturally file something they wanted kept safe:
- A filing cabinet, desk drawer, or document box
- A fireproof safe or a locked drawer
- A folder marked "important papers", "will", or "in case of death"
- With other legal documents — the deeds, insurance policies, or pension paperwork
While you're there, watch for clues, not just the will itself. A solicitor's letter, a business card, or a will-storage receipt can tell you exactly where the original is kept, even if it isn't in the house. People often keep the paperwork about the will at home, even when the signed original lives elsewhere.
Check the obvious-but-overlooked spots too: a bedside drawer, the back of a folder, an envelope with other people's names on it, or an old address book where they jotted down their solicitor's number. If they used a particular drawer or shelf for things that mattered, start there. And if a partner, sibling, or close friend helped them with paperwork over the years, a quick phone call to ask what they remember can save you hours.
Contact their solicitor or will-writer
If the will isn't at home, the next stop is whoever drafted it. Many people leave the signed original with the solicitor or will-writer who prepared it, precisely so it stays safe.
If you've found a solicitor's letter or business card, start there. If not, think about who they used for other legal matters — buying a house, for instance. It's worth ringing round any firms they had a connection with and asking the simple question: do you hold a will for this person, or know where it's kept? A firm won't release the will to just anyone, but they can usually confirm whether they have it and what you'll need to do next.
Ask their bank
Some people store their will at the bank, or leave it with their important documents in a safe-deposit arrangement. The bank may also simply know where it is, from past conversations.
Contact the deceased's bank and ask whether they hold a will or have a note of where it's kept. You'll need to tell them about the death anyway, so this is a natural question to fold into that call.
Search the National Will Register
If you've checked the home and the obvious solicitors and still drawn a blank, the National Will Register (run by Certainty) is the next step.
It offers a service called a Will Search. This can locate a will that has been registered, and it can notify solicitors who may be holding one, casting the net far wider than your own ring-round could. It's built for exactly this situation: a family who knows there should be a will but can't find where it lives.
If probate has been granted, order a copy from GOV.UK
Once probate has been granted, the will becomes a public document. Many people don't realise this. At that point, anyone can order a copy of the will and the grant of probate from GOV.UK's Find a will service.
So if probate has already gone through, perhaps because someone else began dealing with the estate, you can get a copy this way:
- Go to GOV.UK's Find a will service (gov.uk/search-will-probate).
- Search using the person's name and the year they died.
- Order a copy of the will and grant for a small fee (around £1.50).
This is the most reliable route once probate is done. If it hasn't been granted yet, the will stays private and you'll need to find it through the steps above.
A simple order to work through
If you're not sure where to begin, follow this sequence:
- Search the home. The filing cabinet, the safe, the "important papers" folder, and any clues like solicitor's letters.
- Contact their solicitor(s). Anyone who may have drafted or stored the will.
- Ask their bank. Whether they hold the will or know where it's kept.
- Check the National Will Register. A Will Search can locate a registered will or notify solicitors holding one.
- Check whether probate has been granted. If it has, order a copy from GOV.UK's Find a will service.
Work down the list and most families find what they're looking for.
What if there's genuinely no will?
Sometimes, after a thorough and honest search, there really is no will. Be patient and check every reasonable place first, because this changes how things are handled.
If no will is found, the person is treated in law as having died intestate. Their estate is then shared out according to the UK intestacy rules, rather than by their own wishes. The rules set a fixed order of who inherits, and it may not match what the family expected.
So before you assume there's no will, be thorough. People sometimes store a will somewhere unexpected, or leave it with a relative for safekeeping, so a few extra phone calls can occasionally turn one up. A National Will Register search is especially useful here, because it can flag a registered will even when the family had no idea one existed.
If you've genuinely exhausted the search, this is the point to get proper guidance. GOV.UK explains how intestacy works, and a regulated solicitor can tell you what it means for this particular estate and who is entitled to inherit. (This guide is general information about getting organised, not legal advice. For anything to do with intestacy or administering an estate, speak to a regulated solicitor.)
How Beqst makes your will easy to find
Reading this back, you can see how much of the stress comes from one small gap: nobody wrote down where the will is kept. The will itself might be perfectly valid and safely stored. But if the family doesn't know which solicitor has it, they're left searching a house at midnight.
That's exactly what a death folder prevents. It's a single, calm place to record where the signed will lives, who drafted it, and where the other important papers are, so the people you love can find everything without the detective work. Beqst helps you build that record and keep it current as life changes.
Beqst helps you get organised. It isn't a legal or financial adviser, and for any decision about a will, probate or intestacy, you should speak to a regulated professional.
Related reading: What to Do When Someone Dies in the UK · What Is a Death Folder? · What Does an Executor Do?