Check the safe, the filing cabinet, the safe-deposit box and the office of any attorney they used. Whoever holds the original usually has a legal duty to deliver it to the court within a set window after learning of the death — how long depends on the state.
The original signed will is required to open probate.
How: Check the safe, files, and safe-deposit box; ask their attorney.
Applies in 25 of the 31 jurisdictions Settle covers.
6 jurisdictions handle this their own way:
California requires whoever holds the will to deliver it to the superior court clerk within 30 days of learning of the death, and to mail a copy to the executor named in it (Prob. Code §8200).
How: Check the safe, files, and safe-deposit box; ask their attorney. Deliver the original to the county superior court clerk.
Cal. Prob. Code §8200(a) · last checked 2026-09-05read at source
The original signed will is required to petition for probate.
OCGA §53-7-30 · last checked 2026-07not yet confirmed
The original signed will is required to file for probate in Surrogate's Court.
The original signed will is required to apply for probate with the Clerk of Superior Court.
The original signed will is required to obtain letters from the Register of Wills.
In Texas a will must be filed for probate within 4 years of death, or the estate is generally treated as if there were no will. The original is required.
Tex. Est. Code §256.003 · last checked 2026-09-05read at source
Settle builds this checklist into a plan you can actually work
The steps above, ordered for your situation in your state, with the deadlines on a calendar, your documents attached to the step that needs them, and an expense ledger for everything the estate owes you back. The plan itself is free.
Every figure on this page links to the statute or court source it came from and shows the date we last read it. 4 of the 7 citations on this page carry the “not yet confirmed” tag. That means we recorded the citation from a secondary source and have not yet read it against the primary statute text ourselves. We could have left those rows out and the page would look better — but it would imply the rest were checked too, which is exactly the impression nobody should be given about a court deadline.
The full registry, including everything we have not confirmed, is published at Where the state information comes from. If the court or your attorney gave you a different date, please tell us at [email protected] — it is the fastest way to get it fixed for the next executor.
This is one step out of roughly two dozen. The full sequence for your state — with the statutory deadlines, the citations behind them and the date each was last checked — is in the state executor guides.