Check for a will After a Death | Funeral Directory
6 Step 6 of 18

Check for a will

Within the first week

Look for a will at the person's home, with their solicitor, or at their bank. The will names the executor — the person responsible for carrying out their wishes.

Common places to find a will:

- In a filing cabinet or safe at home
- With a solicitor (check their papers for any legal correspondence)
- With their bank (some offer will-storage services)
- At the Probate Registry (if they registered it)

If there is no will, the estate is distributed according to the rules of intestacy. This means the law decides who inherits, which may not match what the person would have wanted.

If a will is found, the named executor is responsible for carrying out the instructions. If no executor is named, or the named executor cannot act, you can apply to be the administrator of the estate.

What you will need

  • Access to the person's home and important documents
  • Names of any solicitors they may have used
Varies — may take a few days to locate

Reading a will can be emotional. There is no rush to do this on the same day.

Previous step

5. Notify the bank and building society

Next step

7. Arrange the funeral

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While you're here...

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Contacting the funeral director is step one. But there are 4 other things you'll need to deal with — and most people don't know about them until it's too late.

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