Is there a register for wills

[darvas]

A friends sibling has died. The sibling had told my friend that she had a will made.
She did not disclose where she had left the will but said it was with a solicitor. As sibling had lived in a city my friend does not know where the will would be.
Are wills registered anywhere? How can my friend find the will.
Thanks for any help

 

[Sue Ellen]

There are some previous AAM threads here that might help.

 

[DannyBoyD]

Are wills registered anywhere?

No

How can my friend find the will.

Search the house for paperwork.

Ask other family members.

Try a letter/ email to local Solicitors offices.

 

[thedaddyman]

Very unlikely a solicitor would deal directly with a non-family member a this stage.

 

[mathepac]

A friends sibling has died.

Family member

 

[DannyBoyD]

Very unlikely a solicitor would deal directly with a non-family member a this stage.

They don't need to 'deal' with anyone.

If a solicitor has a will & is informed their client is deceased, they can contact the executor & ask them to get in touch.

 

[hazelgreen]

I believe a notice can be put in a legal journal requesting anyone holding a will for deceased person to come forth....

 

[Sue Ellen]

If a solicitor has a will & is informed their client is deceased

But if no one knows who the solicitor is how will they be informed of the death?

 

[T McGibney]

But if no one knows who the solicitor is how will they be informed of the death?

This, afaik:

I believe a notice can be put in a legal journal requesting anyone holding a will for deceased person to come forth....

 

[Sue Ellen]

Saw this service on Google the other day but know absolutely nothing about it and would have to wonder if one cannot do the same thing yourself

 

[thedaddyman]

But if no one knows who the solicitor is how will they be informed of the death?

In rural Ireland, the solicitor will find out quickly enough. I know one solicitor who had been appointed executor and at the deceased's funeral he came up to me for some help as the beneficiaries in the will, which was old, were also deceased so it was going to 27 first cousins so he needed help with a family tree.

 

[Zobeda]

As far as I know all, or at least most solicitors, will be members of their local Bar Association.

When my Dad died we knew that there was a will that had been made a good many years before, and that the solicitor who had drafted and formalised it was no longer in practice. We couldn't find a copy, or the original, at home.

I made a phone call to a solicitor who referred me to another in the same city saying she would help.

The second solicitor communicated with all (or nearly all?) of the local practices on my behalf, and within a few days came back to me saying no local practice had the original.

Whether this was simply an informal local practice, developed by members of the Bar Association in Waterford or not I can't say for sure, but perhaps it's replicated in other areas around the country.

(To complete the anecdote we eventually ascertained the original will had been returned to Dad who had it deposited with their bank along with deeds etc)

Hope this might help the OPs friend if their situation isn't yet resolved.