A Legal MinuteMissing & changed wills
Respecting the Decedent’s Wishes
The short answer
The firm's view is to find the will if possible and probate it, whether or not the client likes it, because the property and choice belong to the person who died. The firm searches the normal places as due diligence; if nothing turns up, it stops, unlike knowing where a will is and ignoring it.
From the full episode What Happens When A Will Is Missing (18:15).
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Transcript
We always want to bring forward the decedent's wishes. Whether the person I'm representing, the client, likes it or not, our office's opinion is you find the will if you can and you probate the will. And if it doesn't say what you like, I'm real sorry. That's unfortunate because it's the person who passed away, it's their things, it's their choice, it's their stuff. If they want to give it all to Joe Schmo, that's their stuff. And I'm sorry that, you know, you feel entitled or something.
As far as proceeding without looking, I mean, we do our due diligence. We look in the normal places, like I mentioned. But if you don't find anything, you just stop. This is not, you're not supposed to be Nancy Drew, Miss Cleo, where you're like, oh, I know for sure where it is and I'm just ignoring it.
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