Can't Find the Will? Here's What to Do — and What Happens If There Isn't One

In the days after a death, one of the first questions families face is a deceptively simple one: where is the will?

Sometimes the answer is easy. Sometimes it isn’t. People move, change lawyers, update documents without telling anyone, or simply keep their affairs private. If you’re searching for a will you can’t find — or you’re not certain one ever existed — here’s how to conduct a thorough search, and what happens if it turns out there’s no will at all.

Start with the Wills Registry

British Columbia has something many provinces don’t: a central registry that can tell you whether a will exists and where it’s kept.

The BC Wills Registry, operated by the Vital Statistics Agency, allows people to file a Wills Notice — a record stating that they made a will and where it’s located. It doesn’t store the will itself, only the location.

After a death, you can request a Wills Notice Search. If the deceased filed a notice, the search results will tell you the date of the will and where it was stored. If they filed multiple notices over the years, you’ll see them all, which helps identify the most recent version.

A few things to know:

• Filing a Wills Notice is voluntary, so a search coming back empty doesn’t mean there’s no will

• You’ll need a death certificate to request a search

• A Wills Notice Search is required before applying for probate in BC, so you’ll need to do this regardless

You can apply for a search through the BC Vital Statistics Agency.

Search the Obvious Places

Most wills turn up somewhere ordinary. Work through these systematically:

At home. A filing cabinet, desk drawer, home safe, fireproof box, or wherever the person kept important papers. Check under mattresses and in dresser drawers — older generations sometimes kept documents in surprising places. Look through binders, folders, and envelopes marked with anything that sounds administrative.

With a lawyer or notary. If the deceased used a lawyer or notary public for anything — buying a house, a divorce, a business matter — call that office. Lawyers routinely store original wills for clients, sometimes for decades.

Safety deposit box. If the person had one, the bank can grant access, though you may need documentation proving your authority. Check bank statements for annual box rental fees, which is often how families discover a box exists.

With the executor. If you know who was named executor, they may already have the original or a copy.

With a trust company. Some people appoint a trust company as executor, and the company holds the will.

Follow the Paper Trail

If the direct search comes up empty, look for indirect evidence:

Financial records. Bank statements, credit card statements, and cancelled cheques may show payments to a law firm — which tells you who to call.

Address book and contacts. Look for lawyers, notaries, financial advisors, or accountants. Any of them may know whether a will exists.

Email and computer files. Search for terms like “will,” “estate,” “executor,” or the names of any lawyers you’ve identified. BC has permitted electronic wills since December 2021, so a properly executed digital will is legally valid here.

Correspondence. Letters from law firms, insurance companies, or financial institutions can point you toward professionals who worked with the deceased.

Ask around. Close friends, siblings, a long-time neighbour, or a former colleague may know something the immediate family doesn’t. People sometimes tell a friend about their arrangements without telling their children.

Contact Law Firms Directly

If you have a general sense of where the person lived over the years, calling local law firms and notary offices can be effective. Firms maintain records of wills they’ve stored, and most will check their files if you provide the deceased’s name, date of birth, and a death certificate.

If a firm has closed or merged, the Law Society of British Columbia can sometimes help identify what happened to their client files.

What If There’s Only a Copy?

Finding a photocopy is better than finding nothing, but it creates complications. BC courts generally presume that if the original will can’t be located and it was last known to be in the will-maker’s possession, the will-maker destroyed it with the intention of revoking it.

That presumption can be rebutted — but it requires a court application with evidence explaining why the original is missing and demonstrating that the deceased did not intend to revoke it. This is a situation where you need an estate lawyer.

What If There’s Genuinely No Will?

If a thorough search confirms there’s no will, the person is said to have died intestate. The estate is then distributed according to the Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), which sets out a fixed formula based on family relationships.

In broad terms, under BC law:

• If there’s a spouse and no children, the spouse receives the entire estate

• If there’s a spouse and children who are all children of that spouse, the spouse receives a preferential share (currently $300,000) plus half the remainder; the children share the other half

• If there’s a spouse and children from a previous relationship, the spouse’s preferential share is lower (currently $150,000), with the balance split the same way

• If there’s no spouse, the estate passes to children, then to parents, then to siblings, and outward through the family tree

Because no executor was named, someone must apply to the court to be appointed administrator of the estate. WESA sets out who has priority to apply — generally the spouse first, then children, then other relatives.

We cover this in more detail in our guide to the difference between an executor and an administrator.

What Intestacy Actually Costs a Family

Dying without a will doesn’t mean chaos, but it does mean less control and more work:

Your wishes don’t govern. A common-law partner may not receive what you intended. A close friend, a stepchild you raised, or a charity you supported won’t receive anything. The formula doesn’t care about your actual relationships.

Guardianship is decided by the court. If there are minor children, the court determines who raises them rather than the parent.

It takes longer and costs more. The administrator must apply to the court, and may be required to post a bond — an insurance product that protects the estate — which adds expense and delay.

Family conflict is more likely. Without documented wishes, disagreements about who should administer the estate and how assets should be handled become more common.

When to Call a Lawyer

Bring in an estate lawyer if:

• You’ve found only a copy of the will, not the original

• There are multiple wills and it’s unclear which is current

• The estate includes real property, a business, or significant assets

• There’s disagreement among family members

• There’s no will and the family structure is complicated (blended families, estranged relatives, common-law relationships)

A lawyer can also help you determine whether the estate needs to go through probate at all — see our guide to what probate is and whether you need it.

We Can Help with the First Steps

At Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Services, we work with families every day who are just beginning to sort out what comes next. While we can’t provide legal advice, we can help with the practical foundation — registering the death, ordering the certified death certificates you’ll need for a Wills Notice Search and every other step, and helping you understand the sequence of what needs to happen.

If you’re overwhelmed and unsure where to start, call us. Sometimes just having someone walk you through the first few steps makes the rest feel manageable.

Learn more at myalternatives.ca

This article provides general information about locating a will in British Columbia. For legal advice about a specific estate, consult a qualified estate lawyer.