Check Will on line?

rubble2

Not sure if this is possible but I wondered if there is any way to check the status of a deceased's Will on line?
The situation is that my wife's elderly Aunt passed away last October, we live in the North West and she was in a care home in the Midlands (suffered from dementia) so contact between my Wife and her was minimal.

When she died my wifes cousin contacted her to inform her and to invite my wife and me (along with my wifes sister and her husband) to the funeral which we attended in November.

During the visit my wifes cousin spoke to my wife and her sister to say that they were beneficiaries of the aunts Will, this was a surprise due to the lack of contact in recent times and the fact that we assumed that any assets the Aunt had would have been used up in paying for her care.

Didn't think much more of it but realised recently that we hadn't heard any more about it.

So, we wondered a couple of things, how long would probate take on an estate? (assuming that probate is delaying the process) and is there any way of checking for ourselves on what the status of the estate is? My wife is uncomfortable contacting her cousin directly - doesn't want to appear pushy given the circumstances surrounding the lack of any sort of recent relationship with the deceased.

Thanks

Margot123

The Govt's Find a Will online service provides copies of both the will and Grant of Probate (once granted, obviously): https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/#wills

They can be downloaded for £10.

TonyMMM

Mych depends on the complexity of the estate, but 6-12 months wouldn't be unusual for probate and distribution to take place, especially if they are using a solicitor. If they are diy'ing it can usually be done a lot quicker.

Check the gov website to see when probate is granted.

Tom99

You can also apply for a standing search which will advise you of any probate granted in the next 6 months if you can't be bothered to keep checking the website.

rubble2

Thanks for the responses, I have checked on the link supplied and there doesn't appear any entry in her name,

Would an application for probate appear or is it only when probate is granted that an entry appears on the government website linked to?

Tom99

rubble2 wrote: »

Thanks for the responses, I have checked on the link supplied and there doesn't appear any entry in her name,

Would an application for probate appear or is it only when probate is granted that an entry appears on the government website linked to?

About 14 days after it is granted.

Keep_pedalling

If the estate was a simple cash only one then probate is unlikely to have been required and so the will will never a become public document.

If she spent several years in care, her estate may have been depleted to the state that some bequests fail. The only way to know for certain is to ask, but I can understand the reluctance to that and I think I would wait for at least 6 months after death to make any enquiries.

DigForVictory

There's always the offline route of dropping a notelet to wife's cousin, hoping she is coping with everything going on as well as this cold and 'just happening' to leave your address phone number & email on the back.

No need to come over pushy, just loving & supportive.

rubble2

Thanks,

Didn't realise that the probate only appears on line after being granted - I assumed it was when the application was made, I think we will hang fire for a while and see what happens.

My wife is in contact with her cousins wife due to a shared interest in family history but still feels uncomfortable dropping questions about the Will into her email conversations.