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Probate Registry Wills
- Thread starter Pauline
- Start date
I would imagine that's the case - in which case it suggests their systems have been updated. It might also be connected to the increase in probate charges on larger estates.
Margery
LostCousins Member
I am a complete novice in searching for Wills and need some advice, please. My uncle died in July 1993 at Walton-on-Thames and his wife died in December 1995. They had no children and there was no other close family with the exception of a niece of his wife. I have always been curious about my uncle's estate, assuming that it was left to his wife. I am unable to find any reference to either of their Wills so does that mean that they didn't have one? I doubt that this would be the case as some years earlier my uncle and I were residual beneficiaries of an aunt's estate which was a messy exercise and my uncle was very meticulous about his own affairs. I think the niece - whom I have never met - looked after their affairs in the latter years. I know that this is very loosely "family history" but maybe a forum member may be able to suggest my next step (if any).
Helen7
LostCousins Superstar
Have you done a search at the government's Find A Will service? You should be able to find when and where Probate was granted. You may need to search over a couple of years from year of death, and if the record says 'Administration' rather than 'Probate' it generally means there wasn't a Will. Once you have this information you can order the Will, after you have registered with the site and paid the £1.50 charge 'required by law for the release of public documents'. I just ordered one, and they are quoting 10 working days for electronic delivery.
It is more likely to mean that the estate was distributed without going to probate.
This article explains when probate is NOT required. Bear in mind that property may have been sold to fund care costs.
Margery
LostCousins Member
Yes Helen, I have. It was Pauline's original posting that spurred me on to do so. I have now looked at the Citizen Advice site, as suggested by Peter and it seems that Probate wasn't necessary. I thought that I would still find the Will, though...
Thank you for your reply.
Margery
LostCousins Member
I believe that they still owned their home when my uncle died and it was sold afterwards when his widow went into a nursing home. I imagine that it was a jointly owned property. Thank you for the link to the Citizen Advice site, it seems that Probate wasn't necessary.
Be careful when searching, I didn't get the correct results when searching by year of death, but he did appear in the next year which was the year of probate.
He died 1901 but appears in the 1902 results. This would make it hard to find if probate was many years after.
He died 1901 but appears in the 1902 results. This would make it hard to find if probate was many years after.
Ahhhh! There seems to be pages missing
I've searched for Lomax death in 1885, comes up with surnames starting with P.
So I searched for surnames starting with Lard, get as far as surname Leroy on page 253, and then the next page starts with M and it's number is 210?
I've searched for Lomax death in 1885, comes up with surnames starting with P.
So I searched for surnames starting with Lard, get as far as surname Leroy on page 253, and then the next page starts with M and it's number is 210?
Heather
LostCousins Member
Hi Tim, I see your problem, I tried searching without a surname just the date 1885 and the results show only two pages found for that year. Searching for just the Lomax name gives "16 pages of Lomax results" starting with surnames beginning with M !! I did find 2 pages of Lomax for 1884 starting with William Lomas to Sarah Lomax page 578 and page 579 Thomas Lomax to Long. Have you provided feedback (at top of search page) for this problem?
Helen7
LostCousins Superstar
Two days ago I ordered a soldier's will, that of my (unmarried) great-great uncle who died at the Somme, not expecting much (as details of the estate are not given in such wills), but I was pleasantly surprised when I received it today.
There was no will, but a form saying 'the documents herewith have been regarded as evidence of a valid missing will...', a letter from the War Office requesting witness statements, and two handwritten letters dated Sept 1917 from his nieces (my great aunts). These letters gave details of how they heard their uncle tell their mother (his sister, my great-grandmother) that he had made a will leaving everything to her. There were other details in the letters, e.g. about him having joined the 'Pals' regiment, where he was stationed, the nieces' ages and addresses (one was living in another town I'd no idea she'd moved to - explains why my mother never really knew this aunt). All in all very worthwhile information from a family history viewpoint, and worth the £1.50 fee I think. I don't know how often these wills were 'lost' (or never made) - quite frequently I imagine - but the associated correspondence can be equally revealing, if not more so.
I await the other standard wills I ordered, which have a much longer turnaround time (not due till 6-9 August). I am hoping to discover what happened to the estates of a couple of childless aunts of my father.
There was no will, but a form saying 'the documents herewith have been regarded as evidence of a valid missing will...', a letter from the War Office requesting witness statements, and two handwritten letters dated Sept 1917 from his nieces (my great aunts). These letters gave details of how they heard their uncle tell their mother (his sister, my great-grandmother) that he had made a will leaving everything to her. There were other details in the letters, e.g. about him having joined the 'Pals' regiment, where he was stationed, the nieces' ages and addresses (one was living in another town I'd no idea she'd moved to - explains why my mother never really knew this aunt). All in all very worthwhile information from a family history viewpoint, and worth the £1.50 fee I think. I don't know how often these wills were 'lost' (or never made) - quite frequently I imagine - but the associated correspondence can be equally revealing, if not more so.
I await the other standard wills I ordered, which have a much longer turnaround time (not due till 6-9 August). I am hoping to discover what happened to the estates of a couple of childless aunts of my father.
I have used this, but it's not really feedback connected to this page, but I've tried to explain.
Helen7
LostCousins Superstar
Tim, have you looked at pages 6-7 of the 16 pages which come up when you search for Lomax, 1885? I found several people named Lomax listed there. It seems the pages are not displayed in alphabetical order. I found this problem when I was searching, though usually with a lot less than 16 pages to wade through!
It's a mixed bag of results for me so far. Ordered 7 in one go, got 2 different estimated delivery dates. 1st was spot on, but they've missed the 2nd date
