A client came into my office asking me to handle the probate for his mother’s estate. He submitted to my office the original Will which was executed in 2009 and I knew we had a problem. It was signed by his mother in front of two witnesses without a notary. The witnesses’ names were illegible and the addresses were incomplete. The submission to the Court of such a Will made the acceptance by the Court unsure. Normally we would have to find the witnesses in order to obtain the confirmation by them of the attestation of their witnessing of the Will. The best way to execute a Will is to follow the current procedures of a self-proving Will. Without that we are looking at a more time consuming and costly procedure.

This gives rise to the fact that too many of us have not reviewed our estate planning documents since they were first drafted. Even worse many of us have not even bothered to draft any estate planning documents. As a result their assets are going to go to those individuals that the State of Florida thinks is correct.

Come in to my office for a free consultation to discuss your options.