how do i find out which lawyer holds my dads will

by Alivia Reilly 5 min read

An accountant may know who your father's lawyer is. In any case, your father should have either the original will or a copy so check safe deposit boxes and file cabinets. If you can't find the will, an ad in the New York Law Journal may be a good start, but not all lawyers read the Journal much less the classified ads.

Contact the probate court in the county where your father lived and see whether there is a will on file. Court clerks should be able to track wills by date of death and name. If you think there's a will but it just hasn't been found, you would not be out of line asking to look through your father's papers and files.

Full Answer

How do I find out if my father left a will?

Jun 09, 2019 · Contact 512-377-9466 website Answered on Jun 10th, 2019 at 5:22 AM The attorney who drafted it may have the original or may have a copy. To flush out the original, hire a local probate attorney to file an application for a determination of heirship.

How do I get a copy of my father's will?

Aug 13, 2012 · An accountant may know who your father's lawyer is. In any case, your father should have either the original will or a copy so check safe deposit boxes and file cabinets. If you can't find the will, an ad in the New York Law Journal may be a good start, but not all lawyers read the Journal much less the classified ads.

How do I find a deceased lawyer's Lawyer?

How do I know if a will has been filed?

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How do you look up someone's will online Canada?

Visit the Canada Will Registry website and click the Search for a Will button to prepare your Search Query. If you'd like to register your will, to ensure that it can be found when it's needed, Willful customers can register their wills on the Canada Will Registry at no charge.

Who is entitled to a copy of a will in Ontario?

Who is Entitled to See a Will? Before a testator passes away, he or she is generally not required to share the contents of his or her Will with anyone. However, once the testator dies, any person listed in the Will as an executor or beneficiary is entitled to see it.Jun 28, 2021

Can I view someone's will?

After an individual has passed away, the executor who is the person or people who have been appointed in the will to administer the estate is the only person entitled to see the will and read its contents.May 29, 2020

What does an executor have to disclose to beneficiaries in Ontario?

The Duty to Account Executors have a duty to account to the beneficiaries. This means, 'provide an accounting of all of the assets of the estate, all income (and losses of the estate), all expenses of the estate, and all distributions of the estate.

How to tell if your father left a will?

To determine if your father left a will, you can contact his attorney, executor, or the applicable probate court. You should also check your father's records and see if he kept a copy of the will. If he has left you anything, it should be written in the will.

Where do you file a will if your father died?

If the decedent's estate goes through probate, the executor must file the will with the probate court located in the county in which your father resided at the time of death. Even if the estate does not go through probate, the executor must still file your father's will with the county.

What happens to the assets of a deceased person if they die without a spouse?

Laws vary by state but generally, if the decedent died without a spouse, their assets are distributed to their children in equal shares.

What happens if your father dies without a will?

If your father died without a will, you may still inherit some of his assets. When an individual dies without a will, called dying "intestate," their assets are distributed according to state intestacy laws. These intestacy laws provide for distribution to the decedent's spouse (if any), children, and closest relatives according to a tiered system. ...

What happens if you don't have an executor?

Generally, the executor must obtain a copy of the will upon death, contact the beneficiaries, and conduct a hearing where the executor reads the will. The executor is required to notify you of any inheritance. If there is no executor, you can ask the court to assign you as the executor of your father's estate.

What happens if your father passes away?

If your father has passed away, you are probably entitled to receive a share of their assets. What this share consists of depends on various factors including the decedent's wishes, whether your father left behind a surviving spouse, and whether you have siblings.

Can you be the estate administrator if your father died?

You may be chosen as the estate administrator if he died without a surviving spouse. Finally, you should check unclaimed property lists for the state in which your deceased father lived. States maintain a database of assets that go unclaimed after death. This portion of the site is for informational purposes only.

Can you lose a will in your attorney's safe?

If your wills are in your attorney’s safe, you do not have to worry about losing them. You may even be concerned that certain family members may go so far as to destroy your will to get a larger inheritance. If the will is in your attorney’s safe, that will not happen. In your case, this backfired.

Do attorneys keep wills?

A lot of attorneys offer to keep the original wills they prepare for their clients, at no charge. They do this so they can probate the estates of their clients. When a client dies, their children read the copy of the will and call the attorney whose name is stamped in big bold letters on the first page.

How to get a copy of a will not filed for probate?

How to Obtain a Copy of a Will Not Filed For Probate. If a deceased person's last will and testament has not been filed for probate, it is consequently not a public court record. 1  Therefore, only named beneficiaries, personal representatives and guardians for minor children would be allowed to see it. And if you're unsure whether ...

Where are wills filed?

Wills are typically filed in probate courts based on the county in which a deceased person lived at the time of his or her death, or the county in which the deceased person owned real estate. 2 . Once a person determines the correct probate court , he or she can see if their loved one's will has been filed, by checking a court's probate docket, ...

Can you see a will if you are still alive?

In truth, if a person is still alive, his or her will is deemed private personal property, therefore no one has the legal right to view it. Even after a person dies, his will may only be viewed after it has been filed for probate, at which time the document becomes a public court record. 1 . © The Balance, 2018.

Is it a crime to not file a will?

In some states it is actually a crime for a person in possession of an original will to not file it with the appropriate probate court after the person in possession of the will learns that the person who made the will has died. It's important to realize, that not all wills succeed in governing the distribution of a deceased person's property.

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