Short answer. Yes. Whoever has custody of a will must deliver it to the court with jurisdiction, or to the named executor, within twenty days of learning of the testator's death. Someone who refuses without reasonable cause, after the court orders delivery, may be committed to prison until they hand it over.
What the law says
The person who has custody of a will shall, within twenty days after he knows of the death of the testator, deliver the will to the court having jurisdiction, or to the executor named in the will.
Rule 75, Section 2 — Custodian of will to deliver. Read the full provision →
What the law says
A person having custody of a will after the death of the testator who neglects without reasonable cause to deliver the same, when ordered so to do, to the court having jurisdiction, may be committed to prison and there kept until he delivers the will.
Rule 75, Section 5 — Person retaining will may be committed. Read the full provision →
Delivering the will is a duty, not a favor
The custodian of a will does not get to decide whether or when to produce it. Once they know the testator has died, the rule gives them a fixed window: within twenty days, they must deliver the will either to the court having jurisdiction or to the executor named in the will. This obligation exists independently of whether probate proceedings have already begun.
A court order and continued refusal changes the stakes
If the custodian still does not hand over the will, the matter can be brought before the court, which may order delivery. Someone who neglects without reasonable cause to comply with that order can be committed to prison and kept there until he delivers the will — a coercive remedy specifically aimed at forcing production, not a punishment with a fixed term.
"Reasonable cause" is the escape valve
The commitment remedy applies only where the refusal is without reasonable cause. A custodian who genuinely cannot locate the will, or who has some other legitimate justification for the delay, is in a different position from one who is simply refusing to produce a document they have and control. What counts as reasonable cause depends on the specific circumstances.
Why this matters for the heirs
A will that never surfaces cannot be probated, and an estate cannot be properly settled if the person who is supposed to distribute it, or the court supervising that process, never sees the document. Heirs facing a custodian who is stalling should know that the rule gives the court real leverage — first an order to deliver, and then imprisonment for continued, unjustified refusal — rather than leaving them without any way to compel production. Waiting passively for the custodian to come around is not the only option available.
Related provisions
- Rule 75, Section 2 — Custodian of will to deliver
- Rule 75, Section 5 — Person retaining will may be committed