Quora Answer: If I am the Beneficiary of a Will, but with No Means to Ascertain It, is There a Way to Collect My Inheritance?

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “If I am the beneficiary of a will, but cannot find the will, and do not know the name of the lawyer who made out the will, is there still a way to collect my inheritance?”

How are you certain that you are the beneficiary of the will, if you do not have a copy of it?  Assuming the person has told you, it could have been changed.  One way to avoid all this uncertainty is for wills to be filed at a registry of wills.  But even then, you have no right to see it even if the benefactor is deceased, unless you are the executor of the estate.  You will have to trust the probate process.  Due to personal data protection laws, you have no right to a process of discovery.