Finding a will

[MrsKeats]

I have a feeling that a family member has screwed another family member over concerning a will.
The person I suspect says there was a will and that they were the sole beneficiary. No one else has seen the will. I have looked at the gov.uk site and can find no sign of it or probate being granted.
Is it possible that there was a will and we have no way of finding it?

How recent was this?
As far as I know, all wills go to probate. My dfs will was late to probate after we queried it with the solicitor.
When my uncle died he left no will, we just rang all the solicitors in town (a long laborious task).

The person died in 2019

Not a lawyer, but aren’t there criteria about the size of the estate, which determine whether it has to go to probate, and if above a certain threshold then inheritance tax needs to be paid to HMRC.

Did this beneficiary “inherit” property, and have they moved in and are claiming it as theirs now? You can check with the land registry to see if it is transferred into their name (surely they can’t do this without the necessary formalities being carried out).

Gov.Uk

Sorry, saw you had already looked on there. It can take a while to go through probate I think though, so keep checking.

As far as I know, all wills go to probate

No, they do not. Probate is necessary if the deceased owned land, property or shares in their sole name. It may also be needed to get access to bank accounts.

It is possible there was a will and the OP has no way of finding it. However, if probate is required it will be possible to get a copy of the will. If probate has not been granted yet the OP can set up a standing search costing £3. This will inform her if probate is granted in the next 6 months.

Who handled all the deceased’s affairs after death - who arranged the funeral, had access to bank accounts etc?

Thanks all.
No squirrel the son who we believe has stolen money. No one else saw will etc. There was no property but there would have been bank accounts.

The banks should have checked whether the person who requested access to them was authorised to transfer/have access. So I might start there if it was possible to do so. Hard if you are not next of kin, though, and don't know exactly what should or should not have been there in the first place?

The person who might have been a beneficiary needs to insist the son who says he saw the will shows it to them. If they won't or don't want to do that, stay out of it is my advice. I'm assuming it's perhaps your DH or similar?

It's my ex h and he thinks his brother took everything when the grandchildren would have been mentioned in the will. He also believes cash was taken from the house.