Missing Will: When You Can't Find the Will and What Happens Next

Where to search for a will

Before concluding that no will exists, search systematically:

1. The deceased's home: Look in filing cabinets, desk drawers, fireproof boxes, and any safe. Also check unusual locations — some people keep wills in books or with other important documents.
2. The solicitor who drafted it: If the deceased used a solicitor for any legal work, contact them. Many solicitors store original wills for clients.
3. The National Will Register (Certainty): The UK's main will registration service. Search online for a small fee — many wills are registered here.
4. High street banks: Some banks offer will storage as a service. Contact any bank the deceased used.
5. The deceased's accountant or financial adviser:They may know where the will was kept or who drafted it.
6. HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Wills can be deposited with the Probate Registry for safekeeping. Contact the National Will Storage service.
7. Digital storage: The deceased may have kept notes about will location in email, a password manager, or a digital will-storage service.

Lost will vs destroyed will

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:

• Evidence that the original was held by a solicitor who has since closed or lost records
• Evidence that the will was in a property that was burgled or flooded
• Witness evidence that the deceased never intended to revoke the will

Can a copy of the will be used?

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:

• There is evidence that an original will was duly executed
• The copy reflects the contents of the original
• There is evidence that the original was lost (not destroyed intentionally)

This application is made to the High Court (Chancery Division) and is more expensive and time-consuming than standard probate. Legal advice is essential. If successful, probate can be granted based on the copy.

If no will is found: intestacy

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 for England and Wales (for deaths on or after 26 July 2023):

• If married/civil partnership, no children: spouse/civil partner takes everything
• If married/civil partnership with children: spouse takes personal chattels + first £322,000 + half the remainder; children take the other half of the remainder
• If no surviving spouse: children inherit in equal shares
• If no children: parents, then siblings, then other relatives, in order

Unmarried partners — however long the relationship — receive nothing under intestacy. Only a formal marriage or civil partnership creates intestacy rights. This is one of the most important reasons to make a will.

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. Farra can help with estate administration — get started here.