How do you know if a will is original?
Check for the following:
- The Will is signed by the Decedent.
- The Will is signed by two witnesses.
- A notary paragraph like the one in the example is included.
- A notary has signed the document.
- The notary has stamped the document with a stamp that includes the notary’s name and county where he/she is a registered notary.
What happens if I Can’t Find my original will?
Sometimes that is an acceptable answer to the Court. However, it’s often very difficult to satisfy the Court that something did not happen, and the Court will refuse to admit the Will to probate if you cannot locate the original. This may mean that the client’s preferred beneficiaries will receive nothing.
When to bring your original will to probate court?
The client gives her adult daughter the original Will and tells her that she will need to bring this to the probate court upon her death.
Are there any benefits to having an original will?
The real benefit of it is that, since the Court already has the original document, the Executor never worries about producing the original Will or someone not being able to find the original Will, because the Court already has it. What’s the downside?
Who is likely to hold the original will?
The most likely person to hold the document is the Executor selected in the Will. For example, a client names her adult daughter as the Executor of her Will. The client gives her adult daughter the original Will and tells her that she will need to bring this to the probate court upon her death.
Sometimes that is an acceptable answer to the Court. However, it’s often very difficult to satisfy the Court that something did not happen, and the Court will refuse to admit the Will to probate if you cannot locate the original. This may mean that the client’s preferred beneficiaries will receive nothing.
Why is it important to know the original will?
This may mean that the client’s preferred beneficiaries will receive nothing. Therefore, if the client keeps the original Will, it’s important to know where it is, and even more important for the Executor to know where the original Will is. He or she will need to lay their hands upon it to offer it for probate.
The client gives her adult daughter the original Will and tells her that she will need to bring this to the probate court upon her death.
When does an original will have to be preserved?
(3) An original will submitted to the clerk with a petition or other pleading is deemed to have been deposited with the clerk. (4) Upon receipt, the clerk shall retain and preserve the original will in its original form for at least 20 years.