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Discovering that a will cannot be found after a death is distressing and legally significant. Before giving up and administering under intestacy, there are several steps to take — and there are legal options if the will is believed to be genuinely lost rather than intentionally destroyed.
Before concluding that no will exists, search systematically:
A will that cannot be found after a thorough search is legally presumed to have been destroyed by the testator with the intention of revoking it. This is a rebuttable presumption — it can be challenged — but it is the starting point.
The practical implication: if the original will cannot be found, the estate is likely to be administered under intestacy — which may give assets to people the deceased did not intend to benefit (or exclude people they did intend).
To rebut the presumption, you need evidence that the will was not destroyed intentionally — for example:
In principle, yes — but only by court order. A photocopy or electronic scan of a will cannot be submitted to the Probate Registry in place of the original. However, the court has the power to order that a copy stand as the will if:
The route is rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987: “an application for an order admitting to proof a nuncupative will, or a will contained in a copy or reconstruction thereof where the original is not available, shall be made to a registrar”. It is a non-contentious application to a probate registrar, supported by affidavit evidence — not a claim in the Chancery Division. It only becomes High Court litigation if someone contests the will itself. It does take longer than an ordinary application, and the affidavit evidence is where these applications usually stand or fall.
If no will can be found (or if the court rejects an application to admit a copy), the estate passes under the intestacy rules set out in the Administration of Estates Act 1925 (as amended). These rules allocate the estate in a fixed order regardless of the deceased's wishes.
Under intestacy in England and Wales, for deaths on or after 26 July 2023 (the statutory legacy was set at its current level by SI 2023/758):
Unmarried partners — however long the relationship — receive nothing under intestacy in England and Wales. Only a marriage or civil partnership creates intestacy rights, though a cohabitant may in some circumstances bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975.
Scotland is different again: an estate there is administered under confirmation rather than probate, and the intestacy rules include prior rights and legal rights for a surviving spouse or civil partner and children. The figures above do not apply in Scotland, and Northern Ireland differs again.
For full probate guidance, see our complete UK probate guide 2026, applying for probate guide, and executor first steps guide. For storing a will you have already made, see our guide to storing a will safely. For the IHT400 once you are administering the estate, see our IHT400 guide. For distributing the estate under intestacy, see our distributing the residuary estate guide. For missing beneficiaries, see our missing beneficiary and Trustee Act guide. For estate accounts, see our estate accounts guide. For the estate administration checklist, see our estate administration checklist. For deed of variation options after administration, see our deed of variation guide.
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