A will attorney helps you sort out problems related to wills and other estate documents.
A will is a legal document that lets you list what happens to your property after you pass away. For most people, a will covers either belongings or everything that you own, like financial accounts, real estate, and even the things you can’t physically touch.
Each state has its own set of laws for what makes a will valid and these laws can get pretty tough. That’s why one of the main jobs of a will attorney is to review your will and to make sure it still matches up with the law where you live.
If you need to resolve any will disputes or if you have questions about trusts, a will lawyer can help with those problems too.
What Constitutes a Valid Will?
To make a will that actually holds up legally, you’ll need to follow some steps.
Some people create what’s called a self-proving will. A self-proving will means that you have signed your will following the steps that your state says you need to follow. These particular steps may look a little different depending on where you live. In New York, for example here’s what you’ll need for your will to count:
First, you need to be at least 18 years old to create a valid will. Also, you have to be of sound mind when you sign your will document. You should always mean to create your will at the time that you put it together. You have to sign and date it yourself or you can direct someone else to do it for you if needed.
Always make sure that you sign at the very end of the document. When you do this, anything written after your signature won’t be considered valid, since it gets tough to prove you wanted those lines included in your will.
The presence of witnesses is also necessary for your will. You have to tell two people that the will is yours and then sign it, or let them know you already signed it and show them the will afterwards. You don’t have to meet up with witnesses at the same exact time. But in some places they need to see you sign in person.
Your witnesses have to sign the will within 30 days. This 30-day window starts once the first witness can add their signature to your document.
There are other types of wills as well that you should know about. A holographic will is one that you write out by hand yourself and then sign and date at the bottom. Some states accept these. But not all of them do. Before you make a handwritten will, you should double-check what’s allowed in your area. In the states that do accept them, the usual practice is that two or more people have to be able to tell the court that the will is in your handwriting.
There’s also what’s known as an oral will. This one is given verbally when you tell someone your wishes out loud.
Still most states are pretty careful about oral wills and most of them don’t find them binding. There’s a few cases where an oral will counts in the legal system. On that note, some states let military members use these if they’re overseas. If you think your situation could be an exception, you should look up the laws in your state before you use this.
What Information Should Be Included in a Will?
You’ll want to include a few main things when you put together your will.
Make sure that you also name a guardian if you have any minor children.
You also need to choose who gets what or what percentage of your estate goes to each person in your family. Try to be clear about what happens to any of the property that you haven’t assigned directly to someone, since that helps prevent confusion later.
Remember to choose an executor for your will too. This person works with the legal process for you.
What Are Contested Wills?
A contested will occurs when someone disagrees with what the will says or who it names. This happens if a person who expects to get something from the will doesn’t like a part or feels left out. And people don’t always see eye-to-eye on these things. When you see the term “beneficiary,” it means someone mentioned in the will who’s supposed to receive something from the person who wrote it.
Disputes can come up over all sorts of facts. There could be a question about who should actually get an item. There could be disputes about how much money each person should receive.
Some other problems might include the order in which people get gifts or even what type of property an item counts as.
When problems like these come up you’ll need legal help to sort things out. Arguments over wills typically don’t get settled without going to the court first.
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What Are Some Examples of Common Will Disputes?
You’ll find that will contests mean arguments between the people named in the will. Most of the time, these people are relatives, the children, spouses, or sometimes close friends.
Some common problems can also come up around family heirlooms. Disputes come up about property that’s been in the family.
There can be disagreements about verbal agreements with who gets what. The changes made to the will can also cause conflicts. People will even disagree if there’s one will or if the will has been updated recently.
A will attorney looks over the latest will to try to get a sense of what the person who has passed away wanted. If it’s not always clear, the court can ask the attorney to look more into facts.
That might mean collecting old receipts. It could mean checking the records of gifts given while the person was alive. People still leave paper trails in unexpected places. The attorney might need to find some other documents related to the estate.
How Do You Challenge a Will?
A will lets you make it clear who gets your property after you die. If you want to contest a will, your reason and your own connection to the case also need to meet legal requirements before a court will see it.
Once you clear the requirements, you can then start a case in a probate court. Act on this very quickly when you first see a problem. Each state sets a deadline for filing will contests and you’ll lose your chance if you wait too long.
You’ll find that contesting a will isn’t easy. The courts still stick with what the person who died wrote in their will, unless you can show some strong evidence that something is wrong with it. On top of that, it gets even harder to raise any questions about someone’s wishes when they’re no longer around to explain what they actually meant.
While you technically can file this claim on your own, the probate court can be very picky about facts. It helps to work with an attorney who knows the process and guides you through each step.
Can You Challenge a Will Before It Is Executed?
Most of the time, you can’t challenge a will before it gets executed.
Since a will only kicks in after the person passes away, it acts as a set of directions for the future and nothing at all happens until that time comes.
If you find something that might turn into a disagreement later on, the person who wrote the will can still update it while they’re alive. They can adjust things while there’s time.
They’ll get the chance to change what the will says before anything is ever finalized.
Do I Need a Lawyer to Handle Will Issues?
You’ll see the numerous legal problems that come up around wills. If you have anything that’s connected to a will, you might want to talk your situation through with a will lawyer who knows this area well. It’s quite a bit to manage on your own.
A good lawyer can also tell you about the paperwork and help you understand what everyone’s rights are. If you’re ready to draft your own will or if you want someone to look over what you already have, you should reach out to a local wills attorney for some extra help.
