Sometimes people who are not family members believe they might be listed as a beneficiary in a Will: friends, acquaintances, even the occasional ‘on the side love interest’ of the deceased may have been given some indication that they would receive assets from an estate after a person’s death.
But can a person find out such information without alerting the direct family members to such an inquiry?
The short answer: it will be almost impossible to make such an inquiry anonymously.
Typically, Last Will & Testaments are filed with the probate court of appropriate jurisdiction upon the death of the maker of the Will, but the document itself is normally not a public record.
If a person is named in a Will that has been submitted to the probate court, that person is usually notified of the matter by the court.
If a person believes that they are named as a beneficiary but have not been notified of the submission of a Will to probate, they may have a right to seek probate court intervention to be made a party to the probate process.
But this request of the Probate Court can be a rather tricky legal process that is best handled with competent legal advice (find a local attorney for FREE here), and cannot be done without making the family aware of the request.