how do i find out the lawyer who made a will

Assuming he hasn’t died, you might be able to track down the lawyer who drafted the will. Call your state’s bar association to find out if it still has contact information for him. Check the phone directory for personal listings of people with the same name.

Full Answer

How can I find out if someone has a will?

You'll have to do a bit of detective work instead. Assuming he hasn’t died, you might be able to track down the lawyer who drafted the will. Call your state’s bar association to find out if it still has contact information for him. Check the phone directory for personal listings of people with the same name.

Can I ask a lawyer where a will has been placed?

Not only do the laws in most states prohibit this, lawyers have an ethical responsibility to safeguard their clients’ documents. However, this might not do you much good if you can’t find the attorney to ask where he placed the will. You'll have to do a bit of detective work instead.

Who can see the name of the executor of a will?

Anyone can see it. Interested parties can also usually learn the name of the executor by getting a copy of the death certificate from the county registrar. 3 They can then request a copy of the will if they haven't yet received one or if it's not yet available for viewing in the court system.

How do I find out if someone is a lawyer?

Lawyers are often a tight-knit group and some of them may have stayed in touch with him. You can also search for information online and in the newspaper. The attorney may have made a major contribution to a charity recently or won a golf tournament. If you can find mention of him, the website or newspaper might have interviewed him.

What to do if someone has a will but is hiding it?

If you have good reason to think that someone has the will but intends to hide it, you can sue to force the person to file the will. A lawyer should be able to help you assess your likelihood of success. Obviously, someone up to no good might promptly "lose" the will if pressured.

What to do if you don't know the name of a lawyer?

If you don't know the lawyer's name, go through checkbooks for the last few years and look for payments to an individual lawyer or firm. If you know the lawyer's name but don't have an address or phone number, call the state bar association or check its website.

What is a codicil in a will?

A codicil is a document that revises or adds to a will. These days, codicils are rare. Most wills are created on computers, so people who want to change something commonly make a whole new will, which takes the place of all earlier ones.

What happens if you don't find a will?

If your best efforts don't uncover a will, it's not a problem. Other documents—for example, living trusts, pay-on-death beneficiary designations, or joint ownership deeds—will give you at least some of the instructions you need, and state law will supply the rest.

Who do you turn over a will to?

In most states, the law requires anyone who has possession of a will to promptly turn it over to the executor named in the will or to the local probate court. The local probate court. It's not common, but some people deposit their wills with the probate court while they're still alive. The legal community.

Do you have to give consent to a lawyer to text you?

You are not required to provide consent as a condition of service. Attorneys have the option, but are not required, to send text messages to you. You will receive up to 2 messages per week from Martindale-Nolo. Frequency from attorney may vary.

Can a will be found?

Sometimes, everyone knows a will was drawn up and signed, but it simply can't be found. You may be left with no will at all, or with an old one that you believe the lost one revoked.

How to find out if a lawyer drafted a will?

Call your state’s bar association to find out if it still has contact information for him. Check the phone directory for personal listings of people with the same name. Attorneys don’t often list their home phone numbers, even after they’ve retired, but if you can reach a relative and explain your situation, she might be willing to have the lawyer call you. You can also contact other local attorneys, especially those who practice estate law. Lawyers are often a tight-knit group and some of them may have stayed in touch with him. You can also search for information online and in the newspaper. The attorney may have made a major contribution to a charity recently or won a golf tournament. If you can find mention of him, the website or newspaper might have interviewed him. Contact them and ask if they know where you can reach him.

What to do if you can't find an attorney?

If you can’t find the attorney, you’ll have to figure out where he might have placed the will when he stopped practicing. Some state probate courts accept wills for safekeeping before the testator’s death. If yours does, call the court to see if the attorney transferred possession of the will to the court. If not, the court might have knowledge of ...

What happens if you don't find a will?

In most states, if you fail to locate a will, the law presumes that it’s because your loved one revoked it before his death by destroying it. The court will probate his estate as though he died intestate -- that is, without a will. However, if you were able to find a copy, you can try to convince the court to honor it.

How to find out if an attorney has made a major contribution to a charity recently?

You can also search for information online and in the newspaper. The attorney may have made a major contribution to a charity recently or won a golf tournament. If you can find mention of him, the website or newspaper might have interviewed him. Contact them and ask if they know where you can reach him.

Can a lawyer toss a will into the trash?

If your loved one left his last will and testament with his attorney for safekeeping, the attorney can’t toss the will into a trash bin when he decides to retire or close his office. Not only do the laws in most states prohibit this, lawyers have an ethical responsibility to safeguard their clients’ documents.

Can an attorney call you after retirement?

Attorneys don’t often list their home phone numbers, even after they’ve retired, but if you can reach a relative and explain your situation, she might be willing to have the lawyer call you . You can also contact other local attorneys, especially those who practice estate law.

Can you find the original will of a loved one?

This can be important if you don't find the original. If you can't find the attorney, and if you can’t determine where he put his documents when he stopped practicing, consider what your loved one might have done ...

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Who can receive a copy of a will?

The estate attorney will determine who's entitled to receive a copy of the will and send it to these individuals, assuming the estate has an attorney. Otherwise, the named executor will most likely do so. The most obvious people to receive copies are the beneficiaries and any guardians for minor children .

Who is in charge of guiding the estate through probate?

It determines when and how each beneficiary receives their gifts, so it's only natural that you'd want to know if you're named in it. A will also names an executor who will be in charge of guiding the estate through the probate process. It will most likely name a guardian or guardians to raise a couple's minor children if they have any ...

When wills be sealed, who can ask for a seal?

When Wills Are "Sealed". The beneficiaries of a will or the executor can ask the probate judge to "seal" a will and probate records in certain circumstances. This prevents the public from reading the will and all other related court documents.

What is a heir at law?

Heirs-at-law are so closely related to the decedent that they would have had a right to inherit if the decedent had not left a will, so they might seek to have the will throw out or declared invalid if they're not named in it. 5 .

How to avoid looking for something that doesn't exist?

One way to avoid looking for and wondering about something that doesn't exist is to simply check with the probate court in the county of the decedent's residence. The will should be on record there if the individual who had it in their possession has had time to submit it to the court for probate.

How many people will have a will in 2020?

A 2020 survey by Caring.com indicates that the number of people who had a will in 2020 was 25% less than those who did in 2017. It's not a foregone conclusion that the deceased left one. They might have formed a different sort of estate plan, or perhaps they never planned their estate at all. 1 

What is the purpose of a last will and testament?

A last will and testament is a legal document that establishes how someone—referred to as the testator—wants their estate distributed when they die. A will identifies beneficiaries, and it states what each of them should receive of the deceased's property. It determines when and how each beneficiary receives their gifts, ...

Who should receive a copy of a will?

The Beneficiaries Named in the Will. All beneficiaries named in a will are entitled to receive a copy of it so they can understand what they'll be receiving from the estate and when they'll be receiving it. 4 If any beneficiary is a minor, his natural or legal guardian should be given a copy of the will on his behalf.

Who are the heirs at law?

Heirs at law are individuals who are so closely related to the decedent that they would have inherited from her if she had not left a will. All states have prescribed lists detailing who these people are.

What is a pour over will?

The last will and testament might be a " pour-over will ." This type of will often comes into play when the deceased had a revocable living trust that was not completely funded prior to his death — not all his assets had been placed into the trust's ownership. This type of will simply directs that any property left outside the trust should be moved into the trust at his death.

Can a will be read by anyone?

Remember that a will becomes a public record for anyone to see and read when it's filed for probate with the state court. The beneficiaries of the will can request that the probate judge seal the court records to prevent the general public from viewing it under certain circumstances.

Who do you start with in a prescribed list?

They commonly begin with a surviving spouse, if any, then children, grandchildren, and outward to more distant relatives in an ever-widening arc. More distant relatives typically do not inherit unless all those who precede them in line are also deceased.

Is there such a thing as a reading of a will?

Contrary to scenes you might have seen enacted on television or in the movies, there's really no such thing as a "reading of a will.". There's no legal requirement that a last will and testament must be read aloud to anyone.

Does a pour over will require probate?

A pour-over will also require a probate proceeding, and the successor trustee — the individual named to manage the trust after the owner's death — must receive a copy of the will. It should explain how the executor and the successor trustee should work together to settle the trust and the probate estate. It sometimes happens, however, that ...

How to find out if a family member has a will?

How to Find Out If a Family Member Had a Will. A will cannot remain hidden in a bottom drawer or stashed in an attorney's safe forever. It moves from a confidential and private document to a public one the moment the person who made the will dies and the will is filed in probate court .

Where is a will filed?

Generally, a will is filed in the probate court of the county where a person resided at life's end. If a person has real estate holdings, the will might also be filed in the county where the land is located. Read More: How to Find a Will in Probate Court.

What is the job of an executor of a will?

That someone is the executor, and she is generally named in the will. The executor's job is to follow state procedures to carry out the wishes of the deceased. She files the will in probate court then, in a court-supervised process, collects assets and pays estate debts before distributing the estate to beneficiaries.

How many times can a person change a will?

He can change the will once or a hundred times during his lifetime without explanation or any need to justify his choices because the will is a private document.