Locating a missing will through The U.S. Will Registry involves a simple search. This search taps into a national database that stores the location of a will and final estate documents.

A copy (or Duplicate Copy) of a Last Will may be held with an attorney, an institution, a friend, or at home. A will registered with The U.S. Will Registry identifies where those documents have been stored. The U.S. Will Registry has registrations dated back to 1967.

Finding a missing will using The U.S. Will Registry is easy.

1. Search by name and birthdate of the deceased
2. If a match is found, then verification is necessary for further information to be disclosed. For this, a death certificate and your photo ID are required. Once that is obtained, the will’s location (or the name of the attorney who prepared the will) is released.
3. If the registry does not produce a match, that isn't the end of the process.  Your information is entered into a "missing will database."  Attorneys are able to search this database, letting them know that loved ones are looking for a potentially lost will they, or their office, is in possession of.   If the missing will exists, the lawyer can reach out to the family member listed in the Will Search.

Take it from the people we have been able to help:

"My family had no idea who the attorney was that drafted my dad’s will. Thankfully, his attorney registered the will and we were able to locate it through the registry.” (S. Pollak)

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"Our grandmother gave her will to a friend of hers. When we performed a search in The U.S. Will Registry 14 years later, we were able to see who to contact for a copy of her will. So thankful."   (D. Hall)