I always tell clients to make sure their will is in a safe place that can be easily found by the right person or people when needed. For example, if someone thinks that there is a good chance that their will might get lost or destroyed, then they can file it for safekeeping at the courthouse. But what if the original will does somehow getting lost or destroyed? Can a copy of the will be probated?

Yes, it is possible to probate a copy of a lost will, but it is more difficult to so than when using the original will. This of course means the probate process will be a little more time consuming and expensive, but it’s still much better than not having a will at all to probate.

First, you will need sworn testimony of one or more disinterested witness as to the veracity of the signature on the will.

And by law the court must presume that the original will was revoked by the decedent. So you must also establish with the court why the will cannot be produced in such a way to overcome this presumption.

And lastly, the contents of the will have to be substantially proved up by the testimony of a credible witness who has either read the original or a copy of the will, has heard the will read, or can identify a copy of the will.

If the judge is satisfied, then he or she will accept a copy of the original will. If not, then it will be an even longer and more expensive process to probate the estate. Plus, it would then be very possible that the decedent’s true wishes for who should get their property would not be adhered to. Because the judge would then have to use very specific rules for deciding who gets which parts of the estate, and whatever was stated in the will won’t matter.