How can you find out if someone who died over 40 years ago had a will or life insurance if you can't find any paper work?

You can use lostlifeproceeds.com, they have a search engine that sends the deceased's info to >500 companies. The companies are required by law to respond to you if there is a policy present. This will settle the problem of any life policies. I have no idea how to find a will. Good luck! If you know where they died, you contact the local court house and ask if they have the will on file. If there was an estate opened, the probate records should include the will, as well as who the beneficiaries were.