My parent died 5 years ago and a sibling acted as Executor. I have never seen the Will (despite requests) and the Probate Office has no record which indicates it did not go to Probate even though there was property and effects involved which have since been distributed. I thought I was also named as an Executor (along with a third sibling) but, of course, since I haven't seen the Will I have no way of knowing for sure. I have contacted the solicitors who, as far as I know, dealt with the Will and they say they were not asked to do the Probate and do not know if any subsequent Wills were made but if I wanted a copy of the Will they do hold I would need a copy of the Death Certificate and the permission of the other Executors, the latter being the problem due to lack of cooperation. This being the case, plus the apparent lack of Probate - meaning the Will is therefore not in the public domain - is there any other way I can obtain a copy? I would like to be certain the assets were disposed of in accordance with the wishes of the deceased as I have reason to believe there may be some discrepancy. I have discovered the deceased made several Wills before death (while in the care of the Executor sibling), two in the same month, and the property has not gone to the person the deceased and their spouse (who died first) always wished it to (which was not me, by the way). How can one be certain it is indeed the very last Will & Testament that's been acted upon by an Executor - or that it's been carried out properly? If Probate has not been granted, can anyone who has a Will of a deceased person obtain Probate - in other words, is it the first person to get there, so to speak? Can someone dispose of property and/or effects without Probate? Are beneficiaries entitled to see the Will?

I have started a few threads over the last week and with no disrespect to any regulars on CAG, as it is more my own perceptions that are causing confusion:|, I feel no further forward. In brief we have approx 30K's worth of debts with the largest being Black Horse who have taken over my Capital loan since the LSTB/Halifax merger:-( So in effect that one is still with the OC..... The rest are 5K , 3K, 2K, 1.5K and a few of around £200 - all of these smaller ones are with DCA's:| We have been running a DMP with Payplan for the last 2 years and have never had any problems other than the odd letter reminding us of our debts....not one offer of a reduced settlement:-x We have now sold our house and will be left with approx 5K in cash. Do we tell Payplan about the 5K and ask them to try for F&F's or do it ourselves? If we tell our creditors that we have sold our house and this is probably the last time we'll have access to anywhere near 5K will that help our cause? Do you think Black Horse will be happy to get their £55 per month till the tenth of never from Payplan? Do you think any of the creditors will put the squeeze on us if they get wind that we now have no more assets? All help and advice GREATLY appreciated:roll: