2006-07-20 12:49:07 · 5 answers · asked by Lostinmiss 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Did the deceased have a safe deposit box? Check around at various banks in the area. Does the lawyer have a signed and witnessed copy of the will? Do you know who was supposed to be the executor of the will? Could they have it?
If the will cannot be found, the estate will have to be filed as intestate (without a will). No one can testify or certify the contents of the will without the actual will being presented to the court. Also, the will must have the proper signatures of the deceased and the witnesses for the will to be valid.
File for probate in the county where the deceased person lived. the assets of the estate will be distributed under the intestate laws of the state.
If you think someone is hiding the will, they can be subpeoned into court and ordered to produce the will.
2006-07-20 17:14:23 · answer #1 · answered by Mama Pastafarian 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
If the will is lost, the best thing is to have the attorney who wrote the will to testify as to what it said ( but he should have a copy anyway)
But if no will is available, normally they will fall back to state law
2006-07-20 21:38:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you know the name of the law firm that created the will? They will have a copy in the deceased persons file.
If you can't find the will you're screwed.
2006-07-20 19:59:59 · answer #3 · answered by Lodiju 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I guess the first question would be, have you found the lost will. If not, this is a mute point...
2006-07-20 19:55:09 · answer #4 · answered by arkyankeedonna 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Easy, get an attorney that handles that area.
2006-07-20 19:58:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋