oceanblueeyes
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anyone who is in possession of the Will of an individual who has died, must bring the Will to the Probate Court for filing. The Will is probated in the Probate Court in the county where the deceased established residency.
in my experience, once the will has been filed with the court it is a public record. I file wills and open probates all the time. That court file can be viewed by anyone who requests it and copies can be purchased. The only time a court document is not available to the public IME is if it is under seal. An act which requires an order from a judge.
Yes, that is the way it was for me at least. My father's Will remained private and nothing was disclosed before then... even though he had given it to the Probate Judge to hold. It remained locked up in the safe in the Judge's office until the time of his death and the Will was used to open his Estate at that time.
I have never had any reason to even look at the Will on line since my father had made sure I had a copy of the original and told me who had possession of the original Will so that I could open his Estate when he passed away.
IMO