How to Find Out If Someone Has a Will in New York

By Albert Goodwin, Esq., New York estate and probate attorney. Last reviewed: March 2025.

After a death in New York, one of the first questions is whether the person left a will. If there is one, the original must be filed in the Surrogate's Court before an executor can receive letters testamentary. If there is none, the estate passes under the intestacy statute, EPTL 4-1.1, and a relative applies for letters of administration instead. Which path you are on depends on finding the answer. This page explains where wills are kept in New York, how to check the Surrogate's Court records, how to find the lawyer who drafted it, how to get into a safe deposit box, and what to do when a relative has the will and will not hand it over.

New York Has No Will Registry

There is no state database you can search to learn whether a person signed a will. The only public record is the Surrogate's Court file, and a will reaches that file in two ways: the testator deposited it with the court during life under SCPA § 2507, or someone filed it after death. Everything else is a matter of searching papers and asking people. The search below moves from the places most likely to produce a quick answer to the remedies that apply when someone is withholding the document.

Where Wills Are Usually Kept

In many cases the testator told the named executor where the will is. When that did not happen, the places below account for nearly every will that turns up.

Step 1: Search the Surrogate's Court Records

Which county: Under SCPA § 205, probate belongs in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the decedent was domiciled at death. Start there. New York City has a separate Surrogate's Court in each of its five counties (New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond). If the decedent owned real property in another county or state, that location may hold an ancillary file later, but the original will is filed in the county of domicile.

Searching online: Most Surrogate's Courts now accept electronic filing through NYSCEF, the state court e-filing system, and NYSCEF offers a public case search by the decedent's name. Several counties also run their own public record search, often called WebSurrogate, that reaches further back than NYSCEF. Coverage varies by county and by year. A file opened before e-filing began may appear only in the court's index books or card catalog, so an empty online result does not settle the question.

Searching in person: Go to the records room of the Surrogate's Court and ask the clerk to check the index under the decedent's full name and any variants (maiden name, middle name, nickname used on accounts). Bring the date of death and last address. The clerk can tell you whether a probate or administration petition has been filed, whether a will was deposited for safekeeping under § 2507, and whether a will was filed without a petition.

Getting a copy: Once a will is filed in the Surrogate's Court it is a public record. Anyone may read it in the records room and order a plain or certified copy for the per-page fee set by SCPA § 2402. If a probate proceeding is pending, the file also shows who filed the petition, which attorney represents them and the return date of the citation. If you are a beneficiary, see whether beneficiaries are entitled to a copy of the will before it is filed.

Step 2: Find the Drafting Attorney

Contacting the drafting attorney is usually the most productive step. The attorney's records show whether a will was drafted and when, whether it was executed, and whether a later will or codicil replaced it. The attorney often holds the original or a copy, the witness affidavit and the drafting notes.

Identifying the attorney: Look through the decedent's address book, phone contacts and email for law firm names. Check prior tax returns, check registers and credit card statements for payments to lawyers. Look at the deed to the decedent's home, a prior power of attorney or health care proxy, and closing documents; the lawyer who handled those often drafted the will. Ask the accountant, the financial advisor and the clergy member or friend the decedent confided in.

Confirming the attorney through the court system: The New York State Unified Court System keeps a public attorney registration search on its website. Search by last name. The listing shows registration status, year of admission and business address, and it notes when an attorney is retired, suspended or deceased. If the attorney is listed as retired, the address on file is usually still good for a letter or a call.

If the attorney moved firms or retired: If the attorney practiced at a firm that still exists, the firm almost always kept the will files when the individual lawyer left. Call the firm's records department. A retired solo practitioner in New York typically arranged for another attorney to take custody of original wills, and the registration listing or a call to the retired attorney will lead you there.

If the attorney has died: Under 22 NYCRR 1240.14, when an attorney dies or becomes unable to practice and no partner or associate can take over, the Appellate Division of the department where the attorney practiced may appoint another attorney to inventory the files and protect clients. The Attorney Grievance Committee for that department can tell you whether such an appointment was made and who holds the files. The county bar association is the other call to make. Bar associations in New York City and the surrounding counties often know which lawyer absorbed a deceased member's practice, and some keep records of attorneys who have registered as custodians of another lawyer's files.

When you reach the attorney, ask three questions: Do you hold the original? If not, who was it given to? Is there a later will or codicil? An attorney holding an original will of a deceased client will normally file it with the Surrogate's Court or deliver it to the named executor.

Step 3: Search the Home and the Decedent's Papers

If no attorney can be found, or the attorney returned the original, the search moves to the decedent's home. Look where the other important papers are: the file drawer with the deed and the tax returns, the fireproof safe, the desk, the closet shelf with the insurance policies. Wills written without a lawyer are almost always in one of those places. Check for a key or a rental statement that points to a safe deposit box, and for correspondence from a bank trust department.

If you do not have access to the apartment or house because the lease was in the decedent's name alone, or because another family member has changed the locks, see access to an apartment after death and access to a house after death.

Step 4: Opening a Safe Deposit Box Under SCPA § 2003

If the box was rented jointly and the co-lessee is alive, the co-lessee can usually open it under the terms of the lease. Otherwise, you do not need letters and you do not need to start a probate or administration proceeding to look for a will.

SCPA § 2003 lets a person who would be entitled to letters, a person named in a will, or another person interested in the estate apply to the Surrogate's Court for an order directing the bank to open the box so the contents can be examined for a will, a deed to a burial plot and life insurance policies. The application is a short form, usually decided on the papers without a hearing. The bank opens the box in the presence of a bank officer. If a will is found, the bank delivers it to the Surrogate's Court, not to the applicant. A burial deed may be released to the person arranging the funeral and an insurance policy to the named beneficiary. Everything else stays in the box.

A fiduciary with letters, or a further court order, is needed to remove the remaining contents. The bank will ask for a death certificate and identification, and some banks have their own request form. If the bank refuses to honor a § 2003 order, the court can direct compliance.

Wills Deposited With the Court Before Death: SCPA § 2507

New York allows a person to deposit a will with the Surrogate's Court of the county where that person lives, for a filing fee. The court holds the will in a sealed envelope indexed under the testator's name. During the testator's life the envelope is opened only on the testator's request or by court order. After death, on proof of death, the court opens it and the will is treated as filed in the estate. This is the most secure storage available, though it is not widely used. When the other searches fail, ask the records clerk to check the safekeeping index as well as the probate index.

If Someone Is Holding the Will and Will Not Produce It: SCPA § 1401

Often the will is not lost at all. The person who lived with the decedent, a caretaker, or the sibling who was first in the apartment has it and is sitting on it, sometimes because the will is unfavorable to them. New York gives you a direct remedy. SCPA § 1401 authorizes the Surrogate's Court to compel the production of a will.

Who may petition: A person interested in the estate may bring the proceeding. That includes a distributee who would inherit without a will, a beneficiary or executor named in the will, and other persons the statute recognizes. The petition states that the respondent has the will in their possession or control, or has knowledge of where it is, and identifies the decedent, the date of death and the county of domicile.

What the court does: The court issues an order or citation directing the respondent to appear and be examined under oath about the will and to produce it. If the examination shows the respondent has the will, the court directs the respondent to deliver it to the court. The will is then filed and probate can begin by anyone entitled to petition under SCPA § 1402. Disobedience of the court's order is punishable as contempt. Concealing or destroying a will with intent to defraud is also a crime under Penal Law § 190.30 (unlawful concealment of a will), a class E felony, and respondents usually produce the document once they understand that.

How long it takes: The proceeding is narrow and does not decide whether the will is valid. In most counties the citation is returnable within a few weeks, and the matter is often resolved on the return date or shortly after. If the respondent denies having the will, the examination may require a further date.

§ 1401 versus a lost-will proceeding: Use § 1401 when you know, or have good reason to believe, who has the will. Use a lost-will proceeding under § 1407, discussed below, when nobody can be shown to have the original. The two are not exclusive. A § 1401 examination that confirms the original was destroyed can supply the evidence needed to probate a copy.

If the same person is also holding estate assets, the Surrogate's Court can order their return in a discovery and turnover proceeding under SCPA § 2103 once a fiduciary is appointed.

Documents to Gather Alongside the Will

While searching for the will, collect the related documents. Several of them affect who inherits regardless of what the will says.

If the Will Cannot Be Found

Before concluding there is no will, ask whether the search was thorough. A second look often produces the document, and wills sometimes surface months after the first search. Next, ask whether a copy exists. Drafting attorneys usually keep a conformed copy even when the original was returned to the client. If you have a copy of the will, you may be able to probate the copy under SCPA § 1407.

That route is harder than ordinary probate. New York courts presume that a will last known to be in the testator's possession, and not found after death, was destroyed by the testator with intent to revoke it. Destruction by the testator is one of the methods of revocation recognized by EPTL 3-4.1. To probate a lost or destroyed will under § 1407, the proponent must establish three things: that the will was not revoked, which usually means showing the original was never in the testator's control or was lost or destroyed by some cause other than the testator's own act; that the will was executed in the manner required by EPTL 3-2.1, proved as in any probate; and that all of the will's provisions are clearly and distinctly proved by each of at least two credible witnesses, or by a copy or draft shown to be true and complete.

If no will can be probated, the estate is administered as if the person died without a will. EPTL 4-1.1 decides who inherits, and the court appoints an administrator of the estate in an administration proceeding rather than an executor.

Why Time Matters

New York sets no deadline for offering a will for probate, and a will can be probated years after death. Prompt action still matters. Estate assets must be secured, a rent-stabilized apartment or a co-op can be lost while nobody has authority to act, New York and federal estate tax returns are due nine months after death where they apply, and creditor claims run on their own schedules. Lost-will cases in particular get harder as attesting witnesses move or die and memories fade. Search promptly, and once the will is located, start the probate proceeding. See a sample NYC probate timeline for what follows.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are wills public record in New York?

Not during the testator's life. A will is a private document until death, and a will deposited with the court under SCPA § 2507 stays sealed. Once a will is filed in the Surrogate's Court after death, it becomes a public court record that anyone can read and copy.

Can I find out if someone has a will while they are alive?

Only by asking them or their attorney. No public record exists, and an attorney will not disclose a living client's will without the client's consent.

How long after death must a will be filed in New York?

No statute sets a fixed number of days. A person holding a will has no absolute deadline, but any interested person can compel production under SCPA § 1401, and concealing a will with intent to defraud is a felony under Penal Law § 190.30.

What if a relative is hiding the will?

File a petition under SCPA § 1401 in the Surrogate's Court of the county where the decedent lived. The court will order the relative to appear, answer questions under oath and produce the will. If the relative claims the will was destroyed, the testimony can support a petition to probate a copy under § 1407.

Does the bank need a court order to open a safe deposit box?

To search for a will, the bank needs an order under SCPA § 2003, which is a short application granted without a full proceeding. The bank delivers any will found to the Surrogate's Court. Letters or a further order are needed to remove the rest of the contents. A surviving co-lessee can usually open the box without any order.

Can I search Surrogate's Court records online?

In most counties, yes, through NYSCEF or the county's own record search. Older files may be indexed only on paper, so confirm with the records room before concluding nothing was filed.

Can a copy of a will be probated in New York?

Yes, under SCPA § 1407, if the proponent proves the will was not revoked, was properly executed, and that its contents are established by two credible witnesses or a true and complete copy.

Talk to Us

We cannot search a decedent's home for you, but we can check the Surrogate's Court records, trace a drafting attorney's files, obtain a § 2003 order to open a safe deposit box, bring a § 1401 proceeding against a person who is withholding the will, probate a copy under § 1407, or handle the administration if no will turns up. Our office is in New York City and we appear in Surrogate's Courts across the state. Call 212-233-1233 or write to [email protected]. Read more about Albert Goodwin.