How to find the original will in Ireland
The Probate Office needs the original signed will, not a photocopy, to issue a Grant of Probate. This page covers the five places wills are commonly held in Ireland, what to do if the original cannot be found, and how to establish the terms of a lost will.
The Probate Office needs the original signed will, not a photocopy, to issue a Grant of Probate. Finding it is usually straightforward, but when it is not, the consequences can be significant: a lost original can force the estate down the intestacy route, meaning the statutory distribution rules apply instead of the will's instructions. This page covers the five places wills are commonly held in Ireland, and what to do when none of them produce the original.
Before you start
Do not open any sealed envelope marked "Will" until you are ready to act on it. If the family is not sure whether to involve a solicitor, err on the side of caution: solicitors have procedures for witnessing the opening of a sealed will envelope that can help avoid later disputes about whether the will was tampered with or substituted.
Step-by-step
Step 1: Ask the person's solicitor first. The single most common place an original will is held is the office of the solicitor who drafted it. Start by checking the deceased's papers for solicitor correspondence. Even where the family is not sure who drafted it, a call to any local solicitor who did previous work (house purchase, a family dispute, a business matter) often provides a referral or a confirmation that the will is held elsewhere.
Step 2: Search the deceased's home thoroughly. Home safes, filing cabinets, bedside lockers, document folders, between book pages, and sealed envelopes marked "Will" or "Do not open until my death" are all common. Many DIY wills and many older wills are kept at home rather than with a solicitor. Search places the deceased regarded as safe, not necessarily obvious to others.
Step 3: Check the Law Society of Ireland Wills Register. The Law Society operates a voluntary wills register where solicitors can record the fact that they hold the original of a client's will. You can ask the Law Society to search by providing the deceased's full name, date of birth, and date of death. Not every solicitor registers every will, so a negative result here does not prove no will exists. It just tells you no solicitor has registered one.
Step 4: Check bank and credit union safe deposit facilities. Some Irish banks and credit unions hold safe deposit boxes or sealed-envelope storage for customers. Writing to each institution where the deceased held accounts, asking whether any sealed envelope or document is held in the name of the deceased, can turn up wills that are not held anywhere else. The response may take a couple of weeks.
Step 5: Make a formal enquiry with the Probate Office if still not found. The Probate Office can search for a previously-granted estate, which might matter if the deceased had been an executor for someone else and filed documents there. If the will cannot be found despite reasonable search, the estate proceeds either on a copy under special rules (a court application may be needed), or as an intestate estate where the next of kin applies for Letters of Administration.
What to watch for
A copy without the original can sometimes still be admitted to probate, but the executor must apply to the court with an affidavit setting out what search was done, why the original is believed lost, and why the copy accurately represents the deceased's last intentions. This is a solicitor job, not a personal-applicant job, and typically costs €2,000 to €5,000.
If the deceased is known to have made a later will that revoked earlier ones, but only the earlier will is found, the later will may still be proved by evidence of its contents. Again, a solicitor is needed for that.
If no will is ever found, and the deceased was believed to have died testate, the estate may have to proceed as intestate. The Succession Act 1965 rules then decide who inherits. This is not what the deceased wanted, but the rules apply anyway because a missing original is treated as no will.
Related reading
What to do next
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