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The first place to check to see if a Will has gone through probate (the process of changing the title of property from the deceased to the heirs or Beneficiaries) is the probate court in the county of the state where the deceased lived. If a Will was filed in the court, it will almost always be available to the public.

When a document has been filed with a court, it often becomes a public record. As a public record anyone can see it and, for a fee, get a copy of it. If you are far away from the place where a Will would have been filed in probate, a local lawyer or legal service bureau often can arrange to do a search and get a copy for you for a relatively modest fee.

Everyone who dies does not necessarily have a Will, however, even if they have substantial assets. If someone dies with assets but without a Will, the assets pass through what is called "intestate succession." This means that the property passes to Beneficiaries according to the laws of the state where the person died or the property was located. Probate of an intestate estate is also usually a matter of public record, and you can find out who received property by reviewing the file or getting copies of relevant documents.

In some circumstances, the deceased may not have had assets that passed through probate, even though he or she had property. This is because there are various ways to exclude property from probate so that the title to the property passes to others outside the probate procedure. These methods include joint ownership of property with a right of survivorship, named Beneficiaries on insurance policies and pension/retirement plans, and the use of Trusts. Property that a deceased transfers to a Trust is no longer owned by the deceased at his/her death, and so the property isn’t subject to probate. Trust assets are passed to Beneficiaries through the procedures outlined in the Trust documents. The operation of Trusts and other property transfers outside probate are not part of the public record, and you may not be able to trace them.