What happens when a Will goes missing?

A well-drafted Will can provide peace of mind for the testator (the person making the Will) and those they will eventually leave behind. But what happens if no one can find it? 

This was one of the issues before the High Court in the case of Packer v Packer in March of this year. It concerned a dispute regarding the Estate of the late Stephen Packer; the dispute was between Stephen’s sister Lynn and his widow Debra. Lynn believed Stephen had left a valid Will by which she stood to inherit from his estate, and produced an unsigned draft of it dated 2022. Stephen’s widow Debra believed that he had not finalised a Will, and that his estate would pass to her under the Intestacy Rules. No signed Will was found after numerous searches of Stephen’s home. 

The presumption of revocation states that if a Will is last known to be in the testator’s possession and cannot be found on their death, the Court presumes that the testator destroyed the Will with the intention to revoke it during their lifetime. This presumption can be rebutted by providing contrary evidence but in Packer v Packer, the judge decided that even if it was known that Stephen had properly executed his 2022 Will the presumption would still take effect. In theory, the presumption will operate even if the first person to look for the Will (as in this case) was the person who stood to gain most by its not being found. 

This case underlines the continuing role factual presumptions play in probate claims and the importance of leaving behind clear instructions in respect of your estate. 

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The necessary absence of the one person who actually knows the truth, the deceased, means that factual presumptions continue to play a key role in probate claims whilst their application has faded in other areas of the law.

https://www.guildhallchambers.co.uk/2025/03/20/the-case-of-the-missing-wills-case-note-packer-v-packer-2025-ewhc-461-ch/