Locating my Mother's Will

Simplehart

My Mum passed in January 2021. She had, I understand, a Mirror Will.  I just tried to locate a copy on the Probate Search Gov UK and nothing came up.

Does being a Mirror Will mean it wasn't necessary for my Dad (or Dad's solicitor) to apply for Probate and/or submit the Will for record?

FlorayG

To my understanding mirror wills are just that - both parties agree to have exactly the same bequests (usually to each other and then to the same beneficiaries if they both die). It's otherwise a normal will with all the same requirements

TonyMMM

A will can be executed without needing to apply for probate in some cases ( depends on the type/value of the assets the deceased had).

Marmaduke123

If everything was left to your father and your mother had no assets in her sole name above the limit set by the relevant financial institutions then it is probable no probate would be required.
When my husband died a couple of years ago we held almost everything in joint names, including the house and most of our savings, so all of that passed automatically to me as the survivor. I only needed to apply for probate because he had a cash ISA and the financial institution involved wanted probate to close his account.

Keep_pedalling

Probate would only have been required if your mother had assets that could not be released without it, such as large cash deposits or equities. Often with the death of the first spouse it is not required.

SiliconChip

Isn't your dad's solicitor the same one as your mum used (which I would have thought very likely for mirror Wills)? If so they will probably have a copy of the Will. And of course, if they're mirror Wills then what your dad's says is going to be the same as your mum's said, with the exception of which spouse is the survivor.

Marcon

Simplehart said:

My Mum passed in January 2021. She had, I understand, a Mirror Will.  I just tried to locate a copy on the Probate Search Gov UK and nothing came up.

Does being a Mirror Will mean it wasn't necessary for my Dad (or Dad's solicitor) to apply for Probate and/or submit the Will for record?

No, it doesn't mean that, so there is some other reason why probate wasn't obtained - or possibly hasn't yet been obtained. If your dad is still alive, have you asked him? It isn't exactly unknown for people in this situation to believe they 'don't need to do anything', so worth checking while you can.