Estate Planning Newsletter

• The Passing of Assets to Named Beneficiaries from a Totten Trust
  A decedent’s assets may be transferred upon their death to their heirs or other beneficiaries through probate. “Probate” is the legal process by which a court determines who receives a decedent’s assets under... Read more.
• Increasing Child Support Payments After an Inheritance
  The federal Child Support Enforcement Act of 1984 requires each state to develop its own set of systematic guidelines for calculating awards of child support. Generally, state child support guidelines are based on the parents’... Read more.
• Life Insurance Benefits
  There are numerous uses for life insurance. Some are obvious; others are very creative. Some of the most common uses include paying estate taxes, estate administration, inheritance equalizing and many others. Estate Taxes... Read more.
• Avoid the Reciprocal Trust Doctrine When Creating Life Insurance Trusts
  Estate planning attorneys utilize a number of different estate planning techniques to accomplish the goals of their clients and sometimes to minimize transfer taxes. One common estate planning technique is the transfer of assets into an... Read more.

• Stan Lee’s tangled web of estate planning and how to avoid this mess
• The Top Estate Planning Mistakes Divorcing Women Make
• Estate Planning: A Family Affair
• Charles Chrin’s son fires back in legal dispute with late father’s fourth wife
• Charles Chrin’s son fires back in legal dispute with late father’s fourth wife

Formal Requirements of Wills & Witnesses

A witnessed will is only one of several different types of wills. It is also referred to as a “formal” or “attested” will, and involves the eyewitness participation of other people.

Witnesses

In most states, a witnessed will must be observed by 2 individuals. They must also state that they were present when the person (testator) signed the will, and then recite the way it was signed. This helps safeguard the witnessing (in case at a later date, they are unavailable to verify the testator’s signature on the will).

Who Should Be A Witness

A witness should not be someone who will inherit under the will. Some states disallow this type of witness, and other states limit the inheritance a witness to a will can receive. Witnesses should also be competent to testify about the signing of the will and likely to outlive the testator.

Signature Requirements

A witnessed will must be signed by one of the following:

• The person making the will (testator)
• A person the testator has chosen to sign on his/her behalf
• A conservator chosen by the courts

Marks of the Testator

The testator does not necessarily have to put his/her signature on the will. Other marks will satisfy the signature requirement if the testator is not able to sign the will because he/she is either illiterate or disabled. These types of marks include:

• Any mark that is near the testator’s name
• Another person’s signature (with the testator’s direction), in the presence of the testator
• A conservator’s signature

However, in order for these types of marks to be valid as signatures, they must be witnessed and signed by 2 other persons.

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