Can I see copies of earlier wills my mother wrote?

• Author: Dominic Coyle
• Published date: 13 April 2021
• Date: 13 April 2021
• Publication title: Irish Times (Dublin, Ireland)

I would like to know if it is possible to get a copy of any previous wills my mother made before her final one. Can I write directly to my mother's solicitor or do I have to get another solicitor to do this?

Depending on the content of the previous will, I would then decide on engaging a solicitor further.

Ms J.McM., email

Oh there's nothing to stop anyone writing to a solicitor. Whether it will get you anywhere is another question.

This is an issue that cropped up about a year ago. I'm assuming from your question that you have sight of the current will. What's not clear is what your status is in all this? Are you an executor or simply a beneficiary - disappointed or otherwise?

It doesn't change the rules but might impact the process from your perspective.

The first thing to acknowledge is that the only will that counts is the last will your mother made. It supersedes and renders null and void all previous wills.

And unless you are an executor or the will has already gone to probate, you don't even have any right of access to that. Once probate has been granted the will is accessible through the probate office online.

It seems to me that you are fishing here. You want to check and see if a previous will was more generous to you or less generous to someone else before potentially launching a legal challenge to the current will. Perhaps your mother promised you a particular bequest - a particular ring, a...