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Find Out About the Different Types of Probate.

Learn How to Obtain a Copy of a Will.

How to obtain a copy of a will. If a person dies with a will, the will determines how his estate is disposed of to his beneficiary. Often, the heirs don't have a copy of the will. This may happen because the person who has the will is not on good terms with the heirs. It may also happen when the person who has the will is attempting to defraud the estate of the property and doesn't want the rightful beneficiaries to know that they have an interest in the estate.

When a will is filed for probate, it is a public document and anyone can get a copy of it. If a person has a will and doesn't want to give a copy of it to the heirs of the decedent, the heirs should immediately become suspicious since it is a public document. There is no reason to hide it except to deny the heirs their rightful inheritance. The Texas Probate Code has a procedure where the attorney for the heirs can demand that a will be filed with the clerk. If the will is not filed after the demand, the attorney can file a motion with the court to hold in contempt the person who refuses to file the will. There is a provision for a fine and jail time for refusing to file the will. In addition, the Texas Penal Code makes it a jail felony to conceal, alter or destroy a will.

While it can be difficult to obtain a copy of a will after someone dies, there are remedies available.

How Can You Probate a Lost Will?

How to probate a lost will? A problem that comes up from time to time is the issue of a lost will. Lost wills are problems because there is a presumption that when a will cannot be found, the testator revoked the will by destroying it. One of the methods by which a will can be revoked is by destroying the original copy of the will. When a will was last known to be in the decedent's possession and cannot be located after death, a rebuttable presumption of revocation arises. In order to overcome that presumption, the proponent of the will must prove that the testator continued to have affection for the chief beneficiary of the lost will. If the continued affection is proven and there is no evidence to show the decedent was dissatisfied with the will or had any desire to cancel or change the will, the proof is sufficient for the court to admit the lost will to probate. This assumes of course that the requirements of proving the contents of the lost will have been met.

In order to probate a lost will, the proponent of the will has to overcome that presumption of revocation as well as prove the contents of the lost will.

The Texas probate code has a section that deals specifically with lost wills and what is required to prove them up (PC §85). A proponent of a written will which cannot be produced in court must prove:

the requirements for a valid written will to be admitted to probate,e.g.what you would normally have to prove if the will was produced including that it was not revoked,
the cause of the written will's non-production and that such cause satisfies the court that the will cannot be produced through reasonable diligence, and
the contents of the will must be substantially proved by a credible witness who has read the will, heard it read, or can identify a copy of the will.

If the proponent of the will proves the three things above, the court will admit a loss will to probate. 324 S.W.3d 257