Lost Will Lawyers in Connecticut

A will is a legal document in which an individual expresses their wishes about what they want done with their estate after they pass away. An estate is all of the real and personal property that a person owns. It can include intellectual property as well. An individual who is the parent of dependent children can also provide a plan for the care and upbringing of those children in their will. A Connecticut lawyer would help you understand what a will can achieve.

Without a will, one’s estate may not be distributed to their heirs as they prefer. Specifically, if an individual passes away without leaving a will, in Connecticut, the state law of intestate succession would determine how their assets are distributed to their heirs. If a person dies without leaving a will, they are said to be “intestate” in legal terminology. Every state has intestate laws that provide for the distribution of the estate who passes away intestate.

Dying without a will can cause dependents and other family members to encounter stress, expense and lost time dealing with issues and trying to settle a decedent’s affairs. In light of this, it is best for a person with assets to have a will. A Connecticut lawyer consultation would help an individual understand why they should have a will and what it can achieve for them.

Where Can Lost Wills Be Found in Connecticut?

An individual may follow any number of strategies to secure their will and make sure it is available after they pass away as follows:

• They may put the original will in a safe deposit box or a fireproof safe at home and let family members know about its location.
• They may give a family member a copy of their will and tell them where they can find the original.
• Many people have their attorney keep the original will, because this ensures that it is secure and available when needed. They would want to tell someone, e.g., a family member that their attorney has the original.
• Connecticut allows people to file their will with the Probate Court before they pass away. This is an excellent option for ensuring that it is available when needed.

Whatever strategy an individual uses, they should let interested people, e.g., family members and relatives, know about it, so the will can be found when the time comes.

If family members cannot find a will, they should check the decedent’s home, the Probate Court in the county in which they lived, and the decedent’s attorney if they had one. But if an original will cannot be found, all is not lost.

Will a Copy of the Will Be Accepted in Connecticut?

When a probate case is opened in Probate Court in Connecticut and there is no original will available, the court attempts to determine if there is a valid will or whether there was a will that was revoked. If the executor of the estate is able to prove that there is a valid will that is just missing and the contents of that will, the court may admit a copy of a lost will into probate.

Or the court may simply carry out the decedent’s intent per the will provisions that are proven.

Some key considerations are as follows:

• Presumption and Rebuttal: If the decedent had the original will in their possession and it is found to be missing after they pass away, a Connecticut Probate Court presumes that the testator revoked the will by physically destroying it.

Someone can rebut this presumption by producing evidence that shows that it disappeared for other reasons. For example, they could show that it was destroyed in an accident of some kind or somehow lost. It should be recognized that producing persuasive evidence that a written will existed but was somehow destroyed or lost could be challenging. A person would want to be represented by a Connecticut will lawyer in such a case.

• Admit a Copy: Probate courts in Connecticut would admit a copy of a will, if one exists. However, the proponent of the copy would have to present clear and convincing evidence to show:
  • The contents of the will,
  • That the will was properly executed when it was created, and
  • That the decedent had not revoked it before they passed away.

Acceptable evidence would be the testimony of witnesses, e.g., the witnesses to the signing by the decedent, draft copies of the will, the files of an attorney who may have been involved in drafting the will, and other documents that support the claim that a will was made. For example, billing records from an attorney for drafting of a last will and testament would be helpful.

Again, a proponent of a copy will would want to be represented by a Connecticut will lawyer, as it would not be easy to locate and present clear and convincing evidence to prove the case for admission of a copy.

• Third-party Destruction: If a third party destroyed the will but the decedent had not intended the destruction, e.g., the destruction was accidental or another person did it maliciously, courts will consider evidence of this to rebut the presumption that the decedent revoked the will and destroyed it themselves. The court may admit a copy of the will in this case. Or it might give effect to the decedent’s final intent if that intent can be proven in some way without the original will.

Is There Anything I Can Do to Prove a Will Was Not Destroyed?

If a person has a copy of a will and needs to prove only that the original of the will was not destroyed, some evidence that would be helpful would be as follows:

• The testimony of the people who witnessed the decedent sign the original will and can testify that the decedent had testamentary capacity
• The file of the attorney who drafted the will, including documents that may show the date on which it was executed and any other circumstances of its drafting and execution
• Emails from the people involved in drafting the will and/or others, and other documents such as letters or other forms of communication that confirm the decedent’s intent regarding the will and its provisions
• Clear evidence of the decedent’s intent to keep the will as their last will and testament and not to discard or destroy it
• Testimony that explains the last known location of the will and anything that may be known about how it may have been lost, if it was.

Of course, in the end, if it turns out to be impossible to prove that there was a will that was not destroyed but was just lost inadvertently, a court may rule that the will simply does not exist. In this case, then inheritance succession laws determine the order in which a decedent’s heirs receive their inheritance in the absence of a will. The Connecticut Probate Court would treat the estate as that of a decedent who passed away intestate.

Do I Need To Contact an Attorney About a Lost Will in Connecticut?

If you are involved in a probate case involving an individual whose will appears to have been lost or destroyed, you want to consult a Connecticut will lawyer. Your lawyer will be able to guide you through a thorough search for the original will or a good copy of it, if the original cannot be found. Your lawyer will then be able to advise you about what kind of case you can present to the Probate Court, depending on the circumstances of your situation.

Proving that a document has been lost, destroyed with malicious intent by a third party or something similar is not an easy thing to do. A great deal of investigation may be required. You definitely need to have the help of a knowledgeable Connecticut will lawyer.