text: how do we find his will? my dad just passed away. he had said that he had a will, even told us what the wishes for his funeral were and the moentary amount he wanted to give everyone etc. now that its time to bury him though we can't find the will. he didn't tell anyone who his lawyer was, and we can't find a copy of the will in his house so far. i don't know if he actually did write a will or was just saying that (though i don't know why he would make that up) but since none of us know where the will is we're having trouble fulfilling some of his last wishes (for example can't cremate him because we have to get all 3 of his kids to sign the paperwork since there isn't a will and we haven't seen my brother in years so we can't contact him). so is there anyways to check to see if he did have a will somewhere? are they required to be kept on file? he lived in justice, il if that matters. wills can be hadwritten, or typed and signed without needing an attorney.  if he did soemthing like that, and then buried the will in a shoebox in the backyard, well, it woudl be a legal and binding will, if only it could be found.  unfortunately that is a problem with wills, they are somewhat easy to create, but you do need to make sure that someone knows where it is.  as another poster suggested, speaking with a local attorney and checking all records for safety deposit boxes, or even a handwritten note that is actually a will could do it for you.