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| LONGHAND NOTES APPENDED TO A TYPED WILL SOURCE: RECER EXPERIENCE A Baltimore lady came in for estate planning and told me about her will, prepared 19 years previous. An attested will, it was the kind we recommend to all our counselees. Being prepared by an attorney licensed to practice law in her state of residence and being witnessed by the requisite number of witnesses (that's a different number in various states), qualified it to be an attested will. She said, "After my husband's death, I knew that I needed to update my will; so, I just wrote some notes at the bottom of one of the pages in longhand. That's okay, isn't it?" An addition to a will, called a codicil, should be prepared under the same circumstances as the will. Generally, you do not want to write anything on the will. As I inquired more about her estate, I found that the lady owned real estate (real property) in two states. Multi-state ownership of real estate could mean that the will would need to be admitted to probate in two separate states. With five children and a substantial estate, the likelihood of conflict was very high. And when there is conflict, there is often a "will contest," a challenge to the will. Anyone with a legitimate complaint could sue against the will. If a person calculated that he or she might fare better if the will were ruled invalid, that person might sue against the will in the hope that the judge would invalidate it. If you need to change your will, get adequate legal advice ... and follow the advice of your trusted professional. |
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