If you cannot find the will after someone dies, do not assume the estate is automatically intestate. Search the home and any solicitor who may hold the original, check the National Will Register and the probate records, and if only a copy survives you may still be able to prove it. What happens next depends largely on who last held the original.
The right next step turns on one question that most families overlook: was the original last in the hands of the person who died, or with a solicitor or other third party? The answer decides whether the law presumes the will was destroyed on purpose. This guide covers the search, that legal fork, and how a copy is admitted to probate. Figures are current as at August 2026 and are subject to change.
What does it mean if you cannot find the will?
A will that cannot be found is not the same as a will that never existed. In England and Wales the outcome depends on whether an original, a copy, or nothing at all comes to light, and on who last held the original. Each of those routes leads somewhere different, from a straightforward grant to an application to prove a copy.
There are three practical positions. You have the signed original: probate proceeds normally. You have only a copy or draft: the original is treated as unavailable, and a copy may be admitted under a specific rule. You have nothing, and none is registered: the estate may fall under the rules of intestacy. Our companion guide on how to find a lost will sets out the full tracing process in detail, so this page focuses on what to do once a search is under way or has come up short.
What are the first steps if you cannot find the will?
Work through the likely holders in order before drawing any conclusion. Most originals are found at home or with the firm that drafted them, so a methodical search often ends the matter without any legal application. Keep a note of each step, because that record matters later if a copy has to be proved.
- Search the home and papers. Check files, a home safe, and documents kept with deeds, insurance policies and bank statements. A solicitor's letter or a storage receipt can point to where the original sits.
- Contact any solicitor or will writer. Many firms hold the original they drafted. If the firm has closed or merged, its files usually transfer to a successor, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (0370 606 2555) can often say who took them over.
- Search the National Will Register. Operated by Certainty and endorsed by the Law Society, it can check whether a will was registered and can run a wider search. Fees start at £65 inc VAT (National Will Register, as at August 2026, subject to change).
- Check safe deposit and deposited wills. Ask the bank about a safe deposit box, and check whether the person deposited a will with the probate service, which personal representatives can withdraw after death.
- Check the probate records. If a grant has already been issued, order a copy of the will through the government Find a Will service for £16, or lodge a standing search on form PA1S for £4 to catch a grant issued in the next six months (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
- Write down every search you make. Note who you contacted, when, and the result. This record supports a later application and shows reasonable steps were taken.
Does a missing will mean the person died intestate?
Not automatically. Where the original will was last known to be in the possession of the person who died and cannot be found after death, the law applies a presumption that they destroyed it intending to revoke it. That presumption is rebuttable, not conclusive, and it does not arise at all in some common situations.
The point most families get wrong is the third-party exception. If the original was held by a solicitor, a will-storage service, or another third party rather than the person who died, the presumption of revocation does not apply, because the deceased was not in a position to destroy it (The Gazette, on admitting a copy will, accessed August 2026). In that case a lost original is far more likely to be treated as simply mislaid, and a copy can often be admitted.
Even where the deceased did hold the original, the presumption can be rebutted with evidence: proof that the will still existed after death, a settled intention to keep it in force, or an innocent explanation for the loss such as a house move or flood. The strength of that evidence is what decides whether a copy is accepted or the estate passes under intestacy.
Can you get probate with only a copy of the will?
Often, yes. Where the signed original is unavailable, rule 54 of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 lets you apply for an order admitting a copy, a draft, or a reconstruction to proof. The application goes to a district judge or registrar and must be supported by evidence, since the registry needs to be satisfied the will was not revoked (Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, rule 54, accessed August 2026).
The evidence is given in a witness statement or affidavit. Since amendments in 2020, a witness statement is accepted as an alternative to a sworn affidavit. The steps below set out what a personal representative typically has to establish.
- Produce the best available version. A signed copy, a solicitor's file copy, a scan, or a reconstruction from a draft. The registry will want to see the fullest and most reliable version you have.
- Show who last held the original. State whether it was the deceased or a third party, because this decides whether the presumption of revocation applies to your case at all.
- Address revocation directly. Give evidence that the will existed after death, or set out the facts you rely on to rebut the presumption that it was destroyed to revoke it.
- Apply for the order. Ask the district judge or registrar to admit the copy to proof, supported by your witness statement and any evidence of the will's contents and accuracy.
- Expect possible extra requirements. The registry may ask for evidence of due execution, or direct that notice be given to anyone who would inherit more under intestacy and could be prejudiced by the application.
Which situation applies to you?
The table below maps the common positions to what the law presumes and what usually follows. Use it to work out whether you are heading for a normal grant, a rule 54 application, or intestacy. It is a general guide, and individual facts can change the outcome.
| Your situation | What the law presumes | What this usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Original last held by the person who died, now missing | Presumed destroyed to revoke it (rebuttable) | You need evidence to admit a copy, or the estate may pass under intestacy |
| Original held by a solicitor or third party, now lost | Presumption of revocation does not arise | A copy can often be admitted under rule 54 with supporting evidence |
| Only a copy, draft or scan is found | Original treated as unavailable | Apply under rule 54 with a witness statement addressing revocation |
| No will and no copy found, none registered | Treated as having died without a will | The rules of intestacy decide who inherits |
General guidance based on the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987 and the presumption of revocation as applied in England and Wales, as at August 2026, subject to change.
What happens if no will can be found or proved?
If a full search finds nothing and no copy can be proved, the estate is dealt with as an intestacy, and the rules of intestacy decide who inherits. Those rules follow a fixed order and can produce results the person may not have intended, particularly for unmarried partners and stepchildren, who take nothing under them.
Where there is a surviving spouse or civil partner and children, the spouse receives the personal possessions, a statutory legacy of £322,000, and half of the remainder, with the other half shared among the children (gov.uk, Inheritance if there is no will, as at August 2026, subject to change). Our guide to what probate involves explains how a grant is applied for and why the original will is central to it.
Keep the record of your searches even at this stage. If a later will or a provable copy surfaces after a grant has been taken out on intestacy, it can change who inherits, so the paper trail protects the personal representatives and anyone who benefits.
How can you stop a will from being lost?
The simplest safeguard is to store the original somewhere secure and tell the executors exactly where it is. A will that is easy to locate rarely triggers any of the problems on this page, and it spares the family the cost and delay of a rule 54 application.
Register the will on the National Will Register, keep the original with a solicitor or will-storage service rather than loose at home, and give executors a signed copy plus the storage details. Our guide on how to write a will covers safe storage, and our wider estate planning overview shows how a will fits with the rest of a plan.