How do we find out if our deceased brother had a Will?
Question Details:
My husband's brother recently passed away. He was never married and has no children. The family has searched through his home and have found no Will or even a business card or communication from a lawyer indicating he had used a lawyer for this purpose. He had no safety deposit box. After his passing, numerous friends have insisted that he had a Will and that they were in it. Is there any way of canvasing local lawyers to see if they have any record of the deceased filing a will with them? How does a lawyer know if one of his clients has passed away?
I am sorry for you loss. Sometimes people file their Wills with the Court. Wills are probated in the county in which the decedent resided at the time of their death. You can got down to the Probate court and check. Otherwise, although you can go door to door looking for an attorney and a Will it seems a bit impractical.
If you can not locate a Will then your brother died intestate and the intestacy laws in the state will govern the distribution of his estate. I would suggest that you seek legal help with all of this. Sometimes when a person passes away "beneficiaries" come out of the woodwork and you need help sorting things out. Good luck.
