Wills and Probate

What do you find in a will?

• The name of the testator (the person making the will)

• His address, and usually his occupation

• The date the will was written

• Bequests which may be to family, friends, neighbours or charities

• The executors, people trusted to carry out his wishes

• The testator’s signature

• Signatures of at least two witnesses (who must not benefit from the will.)

• The date probate was granted (ie the document was agreed to be the testator’s last will and testament), and to whom.

• Where the testator wants to alter a provision or change a beneficiary. a codicil will note these changes and be filed with the will.

Why is the information useful?

Wills may mention dead ancestors, pregnant wives, married daughters, grandchildren.... You cannot tell how much detail a will may contain until you’ve read it. A will may be the only document to link branches of the family living in different counties, particularly after 1901.

You have a snapshot of circumstances when the will was made, not when the testator died.

How to look for a death.

Before 1837 and after about 1912, it may be quicker to search a will index, as death will have occurred between the dates of will and probate. Though be warned that some wills are proved long after death in one case 76 years later.

Probate may show that the original executor has died, or is unwilling to act, and explain why someone else takes their place.

What a will does not tell you is someone’s full fortune. Land is generally not mentioned in wills.

Conversely, some people's wills totalled more than their assets!

Boys may have been put to a trade or had a farm bought for them; girls may have had a marriage settlement made on them. Where a child has already been given their share, they may not be mentioned in a will.

If you are looking at an original will, then you can see your ancestor’s actual signature or mark. If it is a registered copy (like the PCC wills you can download from Documents Online) then the signatures will be copies.

Partial transcription of the Will of Samuel Lewcock Baker

When was the will proved?

Before 1858

Wills were proved in church courts. There are usually at least three courts where you might find an individual's will:

• The local Archdeaconry court
• The local Consistory or Commissary court
• The PCC - the Perogative Court of Canterbury where wills might be proved for anyone living in England or Wales.

If you don't find a will, it is also worth looking for an Administration

1858 onwards

Copies of all wills are held by the Principal Probate Registry.

A few Record Offices will have indexes, usually on film or fiche, but these will not be right up to the present. The indexes are worth consulting, simply because of the detailed information they contain on both testators and executors.

All images from Documents Online and subject to ©Crown Copyright

Some sources which may be of use

• Obtaining probate records

• Surrey Plus Wills Index The Surrey Plus Wills Index provides an index to names of people appearing in the wills of testators residing in the County of Surrey, England (and nine other Counties). Many of the wills have been transcribed.

• Medieval Genealogy Probate gives a lot of interesting information and links - well worth looking at.

• Wiltshire will index

• British Origins subsciption site.

-Bank of England Will Extracts Index 1717-1845

-Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills Index 1750-1800

-Archdeaconry Court of London Wills Index 1700-1807

-York Medieval Probate Index 1267-1500

-York Peculiars Probate Index 1383-1883

-Prerogative & Exchequer Courts of York Probate Index 1853-1858

• London Signatures currently includes 10,000 Archdeaconry Court of Middlesex Wills (AM/PW), covering the period 1609 -1810. - free search facility -digital copy costs 4 pounds

• Cheshire Records Office - online catalogue and ordering facility

• Scotlands People – free index - entries are often so detailed you don't need to download the wills. They cost £5 each whether one page or 50 pages.

• Access to Archives

• National Archives

• The Probate Service This link gives some general advice and there is also a downloadable application form "application for a probate search". The form (known as a PA1S) can be used to apply to for example York for copy wills/ grant of probate and letters of administration. Link for tApplication form.

• Index to death duty registers 1796-1903 This is only an index, but it gives the name of the executor and the reference number of the probate which you can use to apply for a copy from the appropriate Record Office.

• Wills4all

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