Legal Questions and Answers by
Jonathan Stones of John Barkers
Question :-
I have a friend who has no family beyond some distant relatives he
hasn’t seen in years. From comments that he has made I have an idea that I may be a
beneficiary of his will, although I am not certain. Is it possible to acquire a copy of a
will before an individual dies?
Answer :-
The short answer is no. A will is a strictly private and
confidential document which has no legal standing until the death of the individual
concerned. It is only at that point it becomes a legal, binding - and public - document, a
copy of which can be obtained by anyone.
Even were someone to show you a copy of a will it would not mean a great deal. It could be
revoked or re-written at any time before death - and there have been innumerable instances
in which people who had been led to believe they would be included in a will only to find
out later that they were not.
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