Finding a will in USA from the UK

[runbackhome]

Hi, I'm looking for guidance if anyone can help me. I lost a very close family member almost a year ago who had moved to the USA. He had always said he was leaving me a sum of money in his will but I haven't heard anything since. He checked my address annually to make sure it was correct between our general chats.

His new wife was very clear with my mum that he didn't remember us at all in the last year due to dementia and has now gone very quiet since his death. That hurt a lot as I guess was the intention. My emails and photos of me and the children to him went unanswered although she updated my mum via the same email address on how he was doing.

I'm not trying to be grabby at all but I don't know how to find out if he was never intending to leave me anything or if something had been changed between him becoming ill and dying. The only search I can find online requires me to put my address details in which won't work as the UK format is different to the US. If it's nothing and that was his wish then that's fine, I just feel like I can't get closure as he was by all intents and purposes my dad from the age of 5 and I miss him a lot as he did me.

I'm pretty skint so I don't want to pay for an online service and it turn out to be a scam. I have no idea how the US probate works.

Thanks to anyone who can give any advice.

Which State was he living in and which County in the State. You can then look him up in the Registry of Deeds for that county. If you want to PM me his name and address I can help you quickly, or give it a go yourself

Thank you so much for replying, I'm having a search now but can only see land records. I know his address and the house is off the market. There are no obituaries in his name for the state and county he lived in. Weirdly one website has him listed as single with my mum as the closest relative although his presumed wife is listed a few rows down. Quite odd. He was very guarded about his life there and said often that he wanted to come home to England again and regretted choosing a life there over his family.

I've just gone through my emails from him and he said I was the sole benefactor of his life insurance, I have no idea who this is with, presumably this would be separate from his will? He died in April 23, does it usually take this long to sort out probate? My dad died many years ago and I remember everything being done within a couple of months.

So a will should be recorded once it has passed probate. A house sale will also be recorded and would be listed under the owners name and also the address, BUT some registries have really horrible search functions and so you think there is nothing there, but actually you just dont quite have the search terms correct. You could try calling the Registry directly and ask for advice, you could also try calling the Town Clerk of the town where he lived and say you are trying to find the executor for the will of x person who lived in x address..sometimes executors are registered with the town if someone owned property as they then have to handle the sale of the property. But it does depend upon which State as each State makes its own rules.

You can also look on zillow.com and out in the house address, scroll right down the page and you can see when the last time the house was sold (often close to the tax info). That might give you some info as you then may be able to track down the realtor and then ask them who acted to sell the house

If you think you are the beneficiary of his life insurance, if it goes unclaimed, it will end up at the states treasurer office and become unclaimed (this might take awhile after death though). Also if you are the beneficiary of his life insurance, this will not become part of his estate, it will be directly to you.

This is the website, https://unclaimed.org/ you have to input the correct state.

Also you could try searching the Recorder of Deeds for the state where he lived as some of them are very detailed (although some, unfortunately are not) and this might tell you who is the legal owner of his home right now. I looked one up in Tennessee yesterday and it was super easy and very detailed.

If you’re not sure if he has passed away, you might be able to source a death certificate from the county bureau of vital records. Again, how good these are can vary from county to county and state to state.

Thank you for your help again all.

I doubt the property will be sold as presumably his wife/partner is living there and fully inherited his share. It was purchased at the same time as he told me he'd moved and isn't on the market currently so all records seem right, I can't see the name of the owner however.

I'm deep into google at the minute, it looks like New Mexico isn't a state that is willing to give much info on its habitants away, I can apply for a death cert but only if I'm immediate family which I guess I'm not any more. There is nothing showing when I search by name for him.

The life insurance part is bothering me. Unless the payments have been returned as 'payer deceased' they may not even be aware? I have no idea who it will be held with and it seems that a death cert would be needed to claim anyway. He did keep a UK account open so it may be worth me calling or writing in case it could be with them. He still had a joint account with my mum for a very long time but it became sole a few years ago.

Otherwise it'll be another attempt at contacting the wife/partner and hoping she replies... which is doubtful!