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  1. #1
    Colin Rowledge
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    Default No record of a will in Probate Calendar

    I am trying to locate evidence of a will for either 1 or both persons who died in 1949 and 1950 respectively.

    I am aware of the 'existence' of such a document for the death in 1950 and I am interested as to whom Probate was granted. There is no record of such a document in the National Probate Calendar so how do I proceed to track down this information?

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    The copy of the Calendar on Ancestry seems to purport to be complete up to 1966. If there's no entry, there's no grant.

    People don't necessarily have to apply for a grant of probate if they don't need actually one, whether or not there was a will.

    The current advice is on page 2 of...

    https://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.u...s/pa02-eng.pdf

    If you don't trust the probate calendar (or your interpretation of it) you could always apply by post but I don't think there's any point.

  3. #3
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    Just to reinforce what Peter has said, when my mother died in 1987, I was one of the executors, and everything was left to my father. We had no intention of applying for probate, and had transferred all the bank accounts into sole names, her premium bonds to him, and the house deeds to his sole name as well.

    A grant of probate would not be required in such circumstances, irrespective of the value of the estate, as it was all passing to the spouse, and in those circumstances there are no taxes to be paid.

    However, she had a tiny number of British Gas shares, and try as we might they would not transfer them to Dad without a grant of probate, and so 12 months after she died we had to go through all the bother of doing that.

  4. #4
    Colin Rowledge
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    If the amount of the estate was not large and the will stipulated that assets were to be distributed between the children of the deceased [without so naming the children], could an executor [without applying for Probate] exclude a person who that executor knew was not a legitimate child of the deceased?

    So we are reasonably assured from the lack of Probate that this action was not taken.

    Is it still possible to find out if there was actually a will and if so how does one obtain a copy?

    Colin

  5. #5
    Brick wall demolition expert!
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    Quote Originally Posted by Colin Rowledge View Post
    Is it still possible to find out if there was actually a will and if so how does one obtain a copy?

    Colin
    If there was no probate then the corresponding will would not have deposited with anyone. Copies may have been given to say banks (along with the death cert) to get monies released. Whoever disposed of the deceased assets may have kept their papers and there could be a copy with those papers.

    Unless you know that there is someone who is likely to have acted as a keeper of the deceased papers, I think that it is highly improbable that you will be able to find a copy of Will 60 years after the death, if that Will was not probated.

  6. #6
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    could an executor [without applying for Probate] exclude a person ...
    The executor could do whatever he wanted. Anyone who felt aggrieved could take legal action with the aim of forcing him to do something different.

    Is it still possible to find out if there was actually a will and if so how does one obtain a copy?
    Not unless family channels are available. If it didn't go to probate, the will wouldn't have become a public document.

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