Obtaining a copy of a Will

[Stargazer]

How does one go about obtaining a copy of a Will and more importantly is it possible to do so without alerting the main beneficiary? I was not a beneficiary but I believe some of the terms of the Will were in favour of the grandchildren (ie: funding for further education which was expressed by the deceased during her last few months). I now need to check if this is accurate as the Will was only flashed in front of the parents of the grandchildren and they were not given the opportunity of reading it properly. Grandchildren are now coming up to the age where this would be relevant. Thanks for any advice.

[factor-fiction]

I assume the peron whose will it was has died. I'm not certain but I think a copy of the will is available from the Probate Office. It was up to the executor to ensure the instructions in the will were carried out. have you spoken to the executor?

[Stargazer]

Thank you Factor30 for your reply. The problem is that the Executors were the beneficiary and his mistress, The sole beneficiary is the grandfather of these children and it was his mother (their great grandmother) who died three years or more ago and therefore it is not in the executors interest to act on any of the wishes which were not expressly written down in black and white. The beneficiary of the whole Estate is the childrens grandfather but because of divorce, communication has been awkward to say the least. This lady was closer to her grandchildren and great grandchildren than she was to her son, and she had actually spoken to them of her wish for the dispersal of her quite large legacy. She verbally expressed this wish to her grand children and it was referred to in the Will (we believe) but nobody was allowed to have a close look at it to ascertain this was the case. One grandchild has now reached an age where funding is essential to continue their education and I would like to read the Will to check if this can be enforced if it is not forthcoming voluntarily (which is most unlikely).

[woofgang]

Once a will has gone to probate and been granted probate then anyone can get a copy, its a public document.
http://www.hmcourts-s...e.gov.uk/cms/1226.htm
Scroll down to "I know the details of the Grant - how do I get the copies I want?"

[happyone2]

I don't know where but you can get coppies of wills that have gone trhough probate. They are in the public domaine

The parent of the children should have been given a copy.

[woofgang]

actually no one is entitled to be given a copy of the will except the executor...anyone is entitled to get their own after probate.

[factor-fiction]

Well if it wasn't in "black and white" and was only expressed verbally (orally) I don't think that seeing a copy of the will will help. The executor has duty to fulfill the terms of the will, not carry out investigations into claims of unwritten promises

[woofgang]

She verbally expressed this wish to her grand children and it was referred to in the Will (we believe) but nobody was allowed to have a close look at it to ascertain this was the case. "