How to find out if someone left a will

There is no register you can search to find out whether someone left a will in South Africa. The Master of the High Court does end up holding wills, but only once an estate has been reported and the will has been lodged. Before that point, the Master has nothing on file and cannot tell you anything. So finding a will is a search, not a lookup.

The good news is that most wills are in one of a small number of places. People do not hide their wills. They leave them with the person who helped them make one, or in the place at home where they kept important papers. Work through the list below in order and you will usually find it within a week or two.

Where wills actually are

The deceased's attorney. Most wills drafted by an attorney stay in that attorney's safe custody. If you know the firm, phone them. If you do not, look through the deceased's papers for any letter, invoice or business card from a law firm, and check their phone contacts and email for the word "attorney" or "will".

Their bank. Banks draft wills and hold them in safe custody, often free of charge, and many name their own trust company as executor. Ask every bank the deceased dealt with, not just the main one. Ask the estates or fiduciary department, not the ordinary branch teller, because the branch often does not know what the trust arm holds.

Their financial adviser or broker. Advisers routinely help clients make a will alongside their policies and investments. If the deceased had a broker, ask.

Their employer or pension fund. Some employers keep a copy, particularly where the deceased worked for a large organisation or a state department.

A family member or friend. People often give the original to the person they trust most, which is frequently the person named as executor. Ask everyone in the family plainly whether they hold a will, and ask them to look rather than to remember.

The house. Search properly. Filing boxes, the drawer with the policy documents, a bible, a suitcase on top of a cupboard, a home safe, a fireproof document bag. Ask the estate agent or landlord if a safe was left behind.

A safety deposit box. If the deceased had one, the bank will need proof of death and, usually, the executor's appointment before the box is opened. This creates a circular problem, because the will is what appoints the executor. Explain the position to the bank and ask what it will accept.

The Master of the High Court. Ask, but understand the limit. The Master holds wills only once an estate is reported. If the deceased made a will decades ago and it was lodged with the Master in an earlier estate, or if a relative has already reported this estate, there may be something. Otherwise there will not be.

How it works step by step

1. Ask the family first, in one message to everyone, so nobody feels singled out.
2. Search the home, with a second person present. Two people searching together avoids later arguments about what was found.
3. Go through the deceased's papers, emails and phone looking for the name of an attorney, a bank fiduciary department or a broker.
4. Phone each of those. Give the full name, identity number and date of death. Ask them to check safe custody records.
5. Ask about a safety deposit box at every bank the deceased used.
6. Ask the Master's office for the area where the deceased lived whether anything is on file.
7. Report the estate within 14 days regardless of what you have found. Read how to report a deceased estate to the Master.
8. If a will turns up later, hand the original to the Master immediately, even if the estate is already being wound up as intestate.

A worked example

The names and figures are illustrative only.

Bongani's mother Grace dies at home. The family believes she made a will, but nobody knows where it is. Bongani sends one message to his three siblings and two aunts asking whether anyone holds it or knows who does. Nobody does.

He and his sister search the house together over a weekend. They find her policy file, three old bank statements and a letter from a law firm dated eleven years earlier about a property transfer. No will.

He phones the law firm. They confirm they drew a will for Grace at the same time as the transfer and that the original is in their safe. It names Bongani as executor and divides the estate between the four children.

Compare a second version. The firm has closed. Bongani phones the provincial law society to find out which firm took over its files, and works his way there. That adds three weeks but he still finds it.

Compare a third. No will is ever found, but Bongani has a photocopy his mother gave him. The Master needs the original, so a copy cannot simply be accepted. Bongani reports the estate anyway. If the copy is to be used, that will take a court application. Otherwise the estate is wound up under the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987, which in this family produces roughly the same result because Grace had no spouse and four children. Read what happens if you die without a will and try the intestate succession calculator.

What to do this week

1. Get the death certificate and several certified copies. Every institution you phone will want one.
2. Message the whole family at once asking whether anyone holds a will or knows who drew it.
3. Search the home with a witness present and write down what you find and where.
4. Look through the deceased's email and phone contacts for law firms, banks and brokers.
5. Phone every bank the deceased used and ask specifically for the estates or fiduciary department.
6. Ask about a safety deposit box while you are on the phone to each bank.
7. Phone the Master's office for the area where the deceased lived.
8. Report the estate within 14 days whether or not you have found a will. Delay costs weeks at the other end.

Documents to gather

• the death certificate, original and certified copies
• the deceased's identity document, certified copy
• your own identity document and proof of your relationship to the deceased
• the deceased's last known address and the addresses they lived at before
• bank statements, so you can identify every bank and any safe custody or box fee
• policy documents and adviser correspondence
• any letters, invoices or cards from attorneys
• the deceased's email login or phone, if the family has lawful access to it
• any photocopy or draft will you already have, even an unsigned one

Realistic timeline

Searching the house and asking the family takes a weekend. Phoning attorneys, banks and advisers takes a week or two, because safe custody records often have to be checked at a central office rather than at the branch. A closed law firm adds a few weeks while you trace who took over its files.

Opening a safety deposit box can take considerably longer, because the bank will usually want proof that the person asking has authority, which is the very thing the will would provide. Expect this to be the slowest part.

Meanwhile the 14 day duty to report the estate runs from the date of death, so do not wait until the search is finished before reporting. Report, tell the Master no will has been found yet, and hand in the original the moment it surfaces.

Common mistakes and what they cost

• Waiting to report the estate until the will is found. Reporting is what starts the clock on the appointment. Report first, search in parallel.
• Asking only one bank. People move banks and forget. Ask every institution on the statements.
• Asking a branch instead of the fiduciary department. Branch staff usually cannot see what the trust arm holds, and a "no" from the wrong desk closes off a real lead.
• Searching the house alone. If a will is later found or an item goes missing, a search done alone becomes an accusation. Take a second person.
• Relying on a photocopy. The Master needs the original. If only a copy exists, expect a court application, which adds months and cost.
• Destroying an old will. If you find several wills, hand every one of them to the Master and let the Master decide which is valid. Never throw one away.
• Assuming a will was never made because nobody remembers one. Wills drawn ten or twenty years earlier are commonly forgotten by everyone except the firm holding them.

If you cannot afford an attorney

Nothing in this search costs money. Attorneys, banks and advisers will confirm over the phone whether they hold a will. The Master's office deals with the public directly and the reporting forms are free.

If no will is found, the estate is wound up under the Intestate Succession Act 81 of 1987. If it is a small estate, the Master issues letters of authority under section 18(3) to a family member, who collects the assets, pays the debts and distributes the balance under the Master's directions, with no executor and no executor's fee.

Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 assists people who pass its means test. University law clinics in most large centres help families with estate paperwork at no charge. If you need to bring a court application to have a copy of a lost will accepted, that is work you will need an attorney for. See what a wills and estates attorney costs and the deceased estate reporting checklist.

Frequently asked questions

The three questions asked most often are whether there is a register to search, what happens if only a copy is found, and what to do if two wills turn up. There is no register you can search before an estate is reported. A copy is not enough for the Master on its own and a court application is usually needed. If two or more wills turn up, hand all of them in and let the Master decide, because the later one usually revokes the earlier one but not always in full. The answers below cover the rest.