How to Find a Will in Probate Court
- 1). Obtain the full legal name of the individual whose will you seek to find in probate court.
- 2). Go to the court clerk's office and provide a staff member with the name of the individual whose last will and testament you desire to locate. Provided the individual passed away in the past year or two, the court clerk likely will be able to locate the will for you the same day as you make your request. The same holds true if the probate court in a particular jurisdiction accepts filings of wills from people who are alive. On the other hand, if the last will and testament for a deceased person was filed with the court clerk longer than two years ago, and the case is no longer active, finding the will can take more time. The will and related information likely are stored in court archives, which are more difficult to access.
- 3). Pay any fee charged by the court clerk if the will you are seeking is located in the court archives. If the clerk's staff must spend time researching archives to find a will, there likely will be a charge for this service.
- 4). Use a public information terminal that the court clerk may make available to the public. A growing number of court clerk offices maintain public access to terminals to aid in finding documents and court filings, including those in probate court.
- 5). Access court document information through the court clerk's Internet portal. A growing number of court clerks use the Internet to aid the public in finding information about court cases and documents, including wills in probate court. You can order copies of wills and other document through these online resources.