From: wdstarr@athena.mit.edu (William December Starr)
Newsgroups: misc.legal
Subject: Re: need advice for simple will
Date: 27 Sep 92 14:03:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: athena.1992Sep27.140332.18022
Organization: Northeastern Law, Class of '93


In article <BDsPRB1w165w@netlink.cts.com>, 
gregb@netlink.cts.com (Greg Beron) said:

> > I would like to have a very simple will drawn up that will simply
> > state that if I die, everything goes to a certain person.  What
> > steps Would a hand written, notarized letter suffice?
>
> In MOST states, a signed, handwritten document (a letter),
> expressing testamentary intent ("this is my will") is sufficient.
> Appointing an executor, attorney, etc. is useful, but not necessary.
> Dating the document is necessary in some, but not all, states.

I echo what Greg said about the requirements varying from state to
state.  I also agree with his "in general" comments, and I'd add that:

(1) dating the document is _very_ strongly recommended, especially if
you have any earlier wills floating around out there;

(2) you should number every page so that there won't later be any
suspicion that a page is missing;

(3) no matter how good your penmanship is, typing the document rather
than hand-writing it would probably be easier on a lot of people's
nerves and eyesight, especially if it's challenged (reason: once a
matter falls into the hands of the courts and lawyers, documents tend
to get xeroxed and re-xeroxed a lot, with a lot of loss of print
quality... a typed document will generally survive this process better
than a hand-written one, thereby cutting down on one potential cause
of delay in the final adjudication.);

(4) you should have your act of signing the last page of the document
(and of signing or initialing _every_ page) witnessed by at _least_
two people;

(5) it can't hurt to do the signing/witnessing before a notary public;
and

(6) you should keep at least one copy, probably the original, in a
place where it will be easily found by your survivors (a safety
deposit box is always good, if you have one).

About witnessing: again, state laws vary, but I know from a bit of
research that I did on one of my legal co-op jobs that the
Massachusetts requirement is that the signing be witnessed by at least
two people _who are not beneficiaries of your will_.  The case I was
doing research for involved a will by which a man left his house to
one of his daughters.  Since his signing was witnessed only by a
neighbor and the daughter who was to inherit the house, it was invalid
under Mass. laws.<*>

<*>Interestingly enough, though, if no other, valid, will could be
   found and the man was therefore ruled to have died intestate, it
   would have been up to the Probate Court to decide how to distribute
   his estate...  and in those court hearings, that not-a-legal-will
   document _could_ be cited by the daughter as being indicative of
   the wishes of the deceased, provided it survived challenges under
   the Mass. rules of evidence.

The moral of the story is that you should get a few people (I'd
offhandedly recommend _at least_ three, just to be safe) who know you
but aren't mentioned in the will to witness your signing (this is the
sort of thing that God invented co-workers for).  They don't
themselves necessarily have to read the document; it will probably
suffice that they be able to testify in court later that "yes, that's
the bundle of papers that I saw John Smith read and sign in my
presence."  (Don't forget to have your witnesses themselves sign the
last page of the document under a "As Witnessed By..." heading.  Have
them also print their names and addresses so that your heirs will be
able to track them down in they need to.)

In any event, the steps I described above are pretty easy to carry out
(how much effort does it take to put a date and page number on every
page?) and should greatly enhance the chances of having the probate
courts view the document as either (a) legally binding or (b) if not
technically legally binding, at least very persuasive with regards to
showing the court what your wishes were.

-- William December Starr <wdstarr@athena.mit.edu>
Newsgroups: misc.legal,alt.folklore.urban