Publicize wills?

Question

a friend's grandfather recently passed away. she swears that when people pass they print their will in the public newspaper so people can see if they were left anything and tells me she has to check the paper soon to see. is that true? i have never heard of that before and i'm just curious if this is true or not.

Answer 1

Even if they are not in local newspapers, wills are public record and can be viewed by anybody just by asking at the local courthouse where they were filed - after the death of the decedent of course.  That is one of the reasons why revocable trusts are getting popular - they also distribute a person's assets, and they are not public record.

Answer 2

Sometimes when people die, newspapers publish an obituary section relative to the area to show others.