If you cannot locate the will, there is, for all practical purposes, no will--if a will cannot be found, it cannot be probated. That means that your grandmother's assets will pass by intestate success (the rules for who inherits what when there is no will)--which in your state will leave everything to your mother if there was no surviving spouse and your mother is the only surviving child (if there are other surviving children of your grandmother--i.e. you have aunts or uncles--they will split the estate with your mother). Of course, some things will go straightaway to your mother without probate, like the bank account or the home in a trust. Regardless, though, of how the assets come to your mother, if they come to her first and then she transfer them to you, there may well be tax consequences if she exceeds the annual gift tax exclusion.There is no way to have them transfered directly from your grandmother's estate to you, from what you write--they will pass to you mother, who then needs to re-transfer them.There of, of course, ways to minimize taxes, but tax planning is *very* complicated and depends entirely on the specific facts--the amount and type of assets, the time frame over which you want to transfer the assets, etc. You and your mother are advised to speak in detail with a CPA about your goals and how best to accomplish them.