Louisiana Law Review Volume 80 Number 4 Summer 2020 Article 9 11-11-2020 Will Formalities in Louisiana: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Ronald J. Scalise Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev Part of the Law Commons Repository Citation Ronald J. Scalise Jr., Will Formalities in Louisiana: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow, 80 La. L. Rev. (2020) Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu/lalrev/vol80/iss4/9 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Reviews and Journals at LSU Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Louisiana Law Review by an authorized editor of LSU Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Will Formalities in Louisiana: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Ronald J. Scalise, Jr. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ................................................................................ 1332 I. A (Very Brief) History of Wills in the United States ................. 1333 A. Functions of Form Requirements ........................................ 1335 B. The Law of Yesterday: The Development of Louisiana’s Will Forms ....................................................... 1337 II. Compliance with Formalities ..................................................... 1343 A. The Slow Migration from “Strict Compliance” to “Substantial Compliance” to “Harmless Error” in the United States .............................................................. 1344 B. Compliance in Other Jurisdictions, Civil and Common ..............................................................