Without Witness Signatures, Your Will Is Nothing But A Bucket List Afterparty Setlist
The hardest part of estate planning is getting started. Once you type your will into a Word document and print it out, you feel a great sense of relief. Now, you have put your wishes in writing, so your family will not have to guess or argue about them. Of course, your printout isn’t a will just yet. Right now, it’s just a wish list. If you walked into a courtroom while you were alive and said, “I wish my son had a million dollars,” the judge would tell you to keep dreaming. If a dead person’s typewritten wish list showed up in a probate court, it would have about the same effect. Talk is cheap, and your words about your intentions for the distribution of your property don’t count for much unless and until your will meets certain formal requirements, including witness signatures. Making progress on your estate plan on your own is great, but to ensure that your plans can run smoothly, you should have an Orlando estate planning lawyer review your estate planning documents.
Be Careful Who You Invite to Your Bucket List Afterparty Setlist Launch Party
It is easiest to get started on your estate plan if you approach it as a set of wishes that you are trying to manifest rather than as a set of fears that you are trying to avoid. Both are equally important reasons to make an estate plan, but it is easiest to make yourself work on it if you ride the optimistic vibes. Of course, it can really take the wind out of your sails to think that you laid out this elaborate plan, but it can’t come true because of a technicality. Therefore, you should ensure that your will meets all of the legal requirements.
The requirements for a will are lenient in Florida, almost too lenient. Your will must be typed and printed; handwritten wills and Docusigned electronic copies do not count. You must then sign your will in the presence of two witnesses, who must also sign the will in each other’s presence. In other words, you must invite two people you trust, so that all three of you are in the same room together. Call it a bucket list afterparty setlist launch party. The witnesses can be anyone you choose, as long as they are at least 18 years old and the courts have not declared them incompetent. Florida does not have a rule against beneficiaries of the will also acting as witnesses. From the perspective of an estate planning lawyer, it is better if the witnesses to your will are not also beneficiaries. Having non-beneficiaries witness your will reduces the chances that someone will challenge the will.
Contact Gierach and Gierach About Ensuring That Your Will Is Legally Valid
An estate planning lawyer can review your will or act as a witness to it. Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.
Source:
leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0732/Sections/0732.502.html
