Q: I am wondering why, in 2026, we are still searching desk drawers and file cabinets for wills once someone has died. Why is there no statewide database where wills can be submitted and stored? They could be released only when you die and only to the executor for privacy. People would no longer wonder which lawyer might have a copy. This would also solve the problem of missing or multiple wills — the latest submitted will is the official one. People could also submit a letter from their doctor stating they are competent. Caretakers could no longer push deathbed will changes on people suffering from dementia.
A: Your idea sounds great in theory, but implementing such a system would cost millions of dollars, and it would likely face widespread opposition.
Plus, for it to work nationwide, all 50 states and the District of Columbia would need to opt in or create their own systems. I can’t imagine this happening any time soon.
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Texas does allow people to deposit their wills with the county clerk in the county where they live, for a small fee. Other states allow people to file their wills with local probate courts or with a “Register of Wills” office.
But in over 30 years of practicing law, I’ve never filed a client’s will with a county clerk, nor have I ever worked on a probate where the will had been filed.
There are also problems with the Texas system. People move to new counties. People forget they’ve filed their wills, or they don’t tell anyone that they filed them. And people write new wills without thinking to file them with the clerk’s office or retrieve the revoked versions. And after someone dies, no one may think to look for the original being held in a county where the decedent once lived.
Over a dozen states, plus the District of Columbia, now allow people to sign electronic wills that can be stored electronically. Some states require a “qualified custodian” to store an electronic will. But Texas does not yet allow electronic wills.
Hopefully the Texas Legislature will pass a new law in the next few years allowing the creation of electronic wills. If that happens, what you want would finally happen: No more searching desk drawers and file cabinets.
This column is intended to provide a general understanding of the law, not legal advice. Ronald Lipman of the Houston law firm Lipman & Associates is board-certified in estate planning and probate law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Email questions to: stateyourcase@lipmanpc.com.