How do you find out if a deceased person ever had a will or not?

Hello. My name is Damien. I am an attorney in New York City practicing in the New York City metropolitan area. It sounds like either you do not have access to your father's residence prior to his death to search his files and records, or you do have access and cannot find the original will or copy of the will. If there is a will, he should have kept either the original in his possession (in his files) or a copy of it. If there is a copy of it and an attorney drafted the will, then you would check to see if the attorney has the original will. Another possibility is that your father filed his will with the Surrogate's Court. It is not necessary to do so. However, a person could file their will prior to death with the surrogate's court clerk. So, you could check with the Surrogate's Court to see if there is a will on file. If you need any assistance, a New York Trusts & Estates Attorney could help you. If you wish to speak on the phone about it, you can call Damien Bosco, P.C. at (646) 452-7082 or email me at DamienBoscoEsq@gmail.com