Probate and wills - what do you get when ordering?

[ValJJJ]

I ordered the will of someone, only to just get the handwritten version of the information already shown in the National Probate Register.  So I didn't learn anything new.

3 May 1897 Probate
William Matthews of 17 Arkwright St, Nottingham furniture dealer died 5 February 1897  Probate Nottingham 3 May to James William Matthews clothier and Samuel Peach warehouseman. Effects £3010 12s 1d

Does that mean there was no will? Or have I not been sent the full record?  Wondering whether to apply for it again.

Looking for your insights please.

[KGarrad]

Did you download the will and/or the Grant?
You need to sign in to The Probate Registry, then look at My Orders.

[mrcakey]

The will should be included in your order. £3000 is a decent wedge in those days too!!!

[ValJJJ]

KGarrard - thanks. I thought I'd ordered the will.  Although I don't recall there being any choices of documents.

Unfortunately this was a while ago so won't now be visible under My Orders, I don't think, because they are only visible for a few months for downloading, then evaporate.

mrcakey - that's what I thought. And yes it was a decent amount of money wasn't it? Which is why I wanted to know who in the family received what.  He'd remarried as a widower and I wondered if his second wife benefitted at all.

ADD: So does the absence of a will mean there was none, or that I wasn't provided with all the documents?

[JenB]

Although I don't recall there being any choices of documents.

There wouldn't be a choice. Where there has been a Grant of Probate you are automatically sent two documents - the Grant and the Will.

[ValJJJ]

Thanks.  In which case I'll order again and if I only get the probate notice, enquire promptly regarding the missing will.

[ValJJJ]

Success with one.  Ordered up, and immediately had the download which consisted of two documents - probate and the will.  I definitely wasn't provided with both with my old order.

The other is pending. Probably because initial probate was revoked and then re-granted (to the same people as far as I can see). Because my last order was for the later probate, I wondered if the will wasn't available with that, so tried ordering the first one. It was probably a mistake to do this as maybe you can't order the revoked one. I will no doubt find out over the coming days.  Perhaps it needs a person to look at the order, so that won't happen over this weekend.

I think I ordered these two wills originally during the chaos of that disastrous website change (or software, or something) that meant many glitches, slow or no delivery of orders and other problems including no answers to emails to them.

[rosie99]

Is the pending one in the same time frame.   They have not all been digitised so are sometimes produced to order.

[ValJJJ]

No not at all.  The one I received instantly was 1897.  The one pending is 1950/1.