DOCSLIB.ORG

How to Search For, Find and Maximize the Trust Or Estate Distributions of Heirs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
How to Search For, Find and Maximize the Trust Or Estate Distributions of Heirs How to Search For, Find and Maximize the Trust or Estate Distributions of Heirs HeirSearch www.heirsearch.com Published November 2017 Edited January 2021 Executive Summary For many legal and trust professionals tasked with dispersing the monies or assets of estates to known—and unknown—heirs and beneficiaries, the barriers are high. Heir searching can be complicated and time-consuming, with statutes and administrative requirements that vary by state, documents that are often erroneous or out-of-date, and crucial information that rests in the hands, or just the memories, of unreliable people, some of whom live in the farthest reaches of the globe. By far the biggest barrier to conducting a successful heir search, however, is the unwillingness of some professional heir search firms to charge fair and reasonable fees for their services. Also known as “heir hunters,” such firms monitor court filings to find probate records, then use them to strong-arm unwitting heirs into signing percentage-based contracts that can take up to half of their inheritance. It's an approach that is unfair to not only the heirs and/or beneficiaries, but to the legal and trust professionals themselves, who have a fiduciary duty to uphold for their clients. There, is, however a better way. Hourly fee-based professional heir search firms, while they make up just a small portion of the professional heir search industry, are dedicated to providing thorough, professional heir search services that commence only with written authorization of a legal or trust professional. Unlike percentage-fee-based heir hunters, with hourly fee-based professional heir search firms like HeirSearch, the bigger the estate, the bigger the disposition. 2 Table of Contents What Is Heir Searching? ............................................................................................................... 4 How Regular Genealogy and Forensic Genealogy Differ ............................................................. 5 Barriers to Getting the Maximum Estate Amount to Its Rightful Heirs and/or Beneficiaries ..... 7 Choosing the Right Heir Search Approach ................................................................................... 8 A Better Way to Conduct Heir Searches .................................................................................... 12 The HeirSearch Difference: Case Studies ................................................................................... 14 3 What Is Heir Searching? While distributing the assets of an estate or trust among its rightful heirs and beneficiaries can be a straightforward process, oftentimes a search must first be conducted to find one or more of the people who stand to inherit. In some cases, the heirs may have lost touch with the decedent; in others, there may never have been a relationship between them to begin with. Sometimes the contact information for the heirs is simply outdated; after all, in the one-year period from 2015 to 2016, an estimated 11.2% of Americans moved, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. It can also be that the decedent didn’t have a will laying out how they’d like their estate to be distributed. Indeed, the majority of Americans—56%, according to a May 2016 Gallup poll—don’t have a will. And that number is climbing; in 2005, the percentage of Americans without a will stood at 49%. When a person dies intestate, that person's property/estate is distributed according to the descent and distribution laws of the state in which they were living. As such, in most cases the need to find heirs and beneficiaries is to notify them that they’re entitled to a disposition, or to serve the heirs a notice/citation as part of the probate process. But in less common cases, heirs must be found in order to advise them of a disposition that will be made to a non-family member or organization such as a charity. In each scenario, it’s left to the person or organization administrating the estate or trust to locate the heirs and/or beneficiaries—to undertake an “heir search.” That’s because whether you’re a trust or probate attorney, an assisting paralegal, a trust officer, an estate planner, or a wealth manager, and whether you’re acting in the fiduciary capacity of administrator, executor, curator, guardian/attorney ad litem, or trustee, the first and most important task you have is to identify and locate those who are legally entitled to a disposition from the estate or trust assigned to you. 4 Many people begin the heir search process on their own, but from tracking down accurate vital records to identifying who the rightful heirs and/or beneficiaries are in the first place, it’s an inherently complex and often onerous process. Which is why most legal and trust professionals seek the assistance of an heir search services firm. How Regular Genealogy and Forensic Genealogy Differ While a critical component of heir searching is locating the whereabouts of heirs and beneficiaries, in some cases the search must begin with finding out who, exactly the heirs are. Genealogy is the study of one’s ancestors by documenting how each generation is connected to the next using dates of birth, marriage, and death. It can be done as a casual or a professional pursuit; there are numerous services available to help people trace their so-called “family tree”. Forensic genealogy, on the other hand, also establishes pedigree through research but is conducted by a trained professional and has legal implications— typically the distribution of held monies or assets. Both make use of individual interviews and document searches and leverage a Consanguinity Chart (see Exhibit 1), which illustrates the relationship among blood relatives, from nuclear to extended. 5 Exhibit 1 Professional heir searching, however, leverages forensic genealogy, as its goal is to identify heirs or beneficiaries expressly for the purpose of the legal disposition of a decedent’s assets to living heirs and beneficiaries. With that goal in mind, heir search firms don't go back in time like a regular genealogist would, but instead go forward, starting with the decedent. 6 Notably, each state has its own specific descent, distribution, and notice statutes; for example, states differ as to which generational level or degree of consanguinity is required when it comes to locating living heirs. Using forensic genealogy, professional search firms not only identify and locate missing heirs in accordance with individual state laws, but generate the detailed reports necessary for the disposition of monies and assets to be approved, with affidavits, exhibits, and all efforts to find missing heirs and determine kinship documented accordingly. For if the search process isn’t conducted according to state laws and/or the report isn’t compiled in such a way as to receive court approval, the disposition cannot be made. And if laws are broken, even unintentionally, the legal or trust professional representing the estate could be held liable, such as for breach of fiduciary duty. Barriers to Getting the Maximum Estate Amount to Its Rightful Heirs and/or Beneficiaries State laws regarding how to identify and locate missing heirs and court reporting requirements aren’t the only potential barriers to getting the maximum estate amount to the rightful heirs and/or beneficiaries. As with any endeavor where the goal is a distribution of monies and/or assets, the potential for ethical violations can be especially high. And while on a state level there are statutes, administrative rules, and related laws that apply to heir searching, they differ widely from state to state. Moreover, in the U.S., while some heir search firms adhere to the Genealogical Proof Standard as well as the ethical guidelines laid out by the Association of Professional Genealogists, the heir search industry itself is not highly regulated and does not have an established organization that accredits its members or otherwise provides standards to which heir search practitioners are expected to adhere. By far the biggest barrier to getting the maximum estate amount to its rightful heirs and/or beneficiaries is the approach taken by certain heir search firms and 7 their related fee structure. A professional search firm can always either locate missing heirs or, in the rare cases when an heir cannot be located, provide a due diligence report that will satisfy the court that all attempts were made to locate said heirs by charging fair, reasonable, transparent, and justifiable fees. How certain heir search firms choose to approach the search and what they charge for their services, however, often comes at an exorbitant cost to everyone else involved. Choosing the Right Heir Search Approach The first and most common way to conduct an heir search is the do-it-yourself approach. Typically upon a person’s death, family members who learn that there are named heirs or other beneficiaries whose whereabouts are unknown will do their best to find and interview them on their own by reaching out to shared connections, searching for vital records using online databases—even going through the personal effects of the deceased in the hopes of turning up contact information. Such searches can often be frustrating at best and at worse, futile. Not all connections will be forthcoming with or even have access to accurate information; vital records aren’t always available or, for the average person, accessible, and even if they can be accessed are sometimes inaccurate or incomplete; and contact information, if it can be located at all, isn’t always up-to- date. Some people—for whatever reason—don’t want to be found. The search often crosses borders as well, which can require navigating local laws, languages, cultural norms, or even political conflicts. In some cases, the search will take people to extremely rural and difficult-to-access regions that, in the interest of safety, require the guidance and assistance of locals. To be sure, some people may consider such a journey the adventure of a lifetime, but it can easily become an exercise in frustration if they fall short in obtaining just one or two vital pieces of information required for the dispensation of the assets in question.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Aberdeen Student Law Review
    Aberdeen Student Law Review With thanks to our sponsors Stronachs LLP July 2011 Volume 2 www.abdn.ac.uk/law/aslr THE EDITORIAL BOARD 2010 - 2011 Managing Editor Leanne Bain Editors Alice Cannon Ross Douglas Emma Fraser Stuart Lee Bruce Mangeon Fairweather Charlotte Taylor Ryan T. Whelan Jennifer White FOREWORD BY THE HON . LORD WOOLMAN SENATOR OF THE COLLEGE OF JUSTICE Has the ASLR already reached its second volume? I am delighted that the brio of those involved in launching the project has been sustained. That is evident from the table of contents for the new volume. The topics range across legal history, oil and gas law and the law of evidence. In my view, volume two confirms that the ASLR is continuing to make a significant contribution to legal learning in Scotland. Stephen Woolman July 2011 INTRODUCTION TO VOLUME TWO In 1987 Professor Erwin N Griswold, former Dean of Harvard Law School, gave an insight into the history of the Harvard Law Review, the oldest student-led law review in the world. He acknowledged: Some people are concerned that a major legal periodical in the United States is edited and managed by students. It is an unusual situation, but it started that way, and it developed mightily from its own strength.1 I firmly believe in the strength of the student law review, and it is this belief that has shaped the endeavours of the editorial team during the past year The second year of a professional publication can be as difficult as the first, and this year has certainly not been without challenge.
    [Show full text]
  • Uniform Probate Code Article Ii Intestacy, Wills, and Donative Transfers
    UNIFORM PROBATE CODE ARTICLE II INTESTACY, WILLS, AND DONATIVE TRANSFERS [Sections to be Revised in Bold] Table of Sections PART 1 INTESTATE SUCCESSION § 2-101. Intestate Estate. § 2-102. Share of Spouse. § 2-102A. Share of Spouse. § 2-103. Share of Heirs Other Than Surviving Spouse. § 2-104. Requirement That Heir Survive Decedent for 120 Hours. § 2-105. No Taker. § 2-106. Representation. § 2-107. Kindred of Half Blood. § 2-108. Afterborn Heirs. § 2-109. Advancements. § 2-110. Debts to Decedent. § 2-111. Alienage. § 2-112. Dower and Curtesy Abolished. § 2-113. Individuals Related to Decedent Through Two Lines. § 2-114. Parent and Child Relationship. § 2-101. Intestate Estate. (a) Any part of a decedent’s estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent’s heirs as prescribed in this Code, except as modified by the decedent’s will. (b) A decedent by will may expressly exclude or limit the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate succession. If that individual or a member of that class survives the decedent, the share of the decedent’s intestate estate to which that individual or class would have succeeded passes as if that individual or each member of that class had disclaimed his [or her] intestate share. § 2-102. Share of Spouse. The intestate share of a decedent’s surviving spouse is: (1) the entire intestate estate if: (i) no descendant or parent of the decedent survives the decedent; or (ii) all of the decedent’s surviving descendants are also
    [Show full text]
  • Testamentary Trusts
    TESTAMENTARY TRUSTS Trusts that are created pursuant to the terms of a probated Last Will and Testament are commonly referred to as “testamentary trusts.” 1. Applicable Law. The applicable law for these Trusts is the Kansas Probate Code (not the Kansas Trust Code). The authority of the probate court as to testamentary trusts is set forth at K.S.A. 59-103(7), as follows: to supervise the administration of trusts and powers created by wills admitted to probate, and trusts and powers created by written instruments other than by wills in favor of persons subject to conservatorship; to appoint and remove trustees for such trusts, to make all necessary orders relating to such trust estates, to direct and control the official acts of such trustees, and to settle their accounts. K.S.A. 59-103(a) Docket Fee for Trusteeship $69.50 [Rev. Ch. 80, Sec. 17, 2017 Sess. Laws] 2. Obtaining Appointment of Testamentary Trustee. Based upon the statutory grant of Court authority under K.S.A. 59-103(7), it appears necessary for a nominated testamentary trustee to be formally appointed by the Court. As a practical matter, the judicial grant of Letters of Trusteeship may be necessary to obtain delivery of the trust’s share of probate assets, to deal with banks and financial institutions (such as to open accounts), or to later sell assets. It is also appropriate to establish the formal commencement of the new fiduciary relationship and the Trustee’s formal acceptance of the obligation as fiduciary for the newly established testamentary trust.
    [Show full text]
  • Answering Your Legal Questions About Revocable Living Trusts Who May Create, Manage, and Benefit from a Revocable Living Trust?
    Answering your legal questions about revocable living trusts Who may create, manage, and benefit from a revocable living trust? If you were to die or become disabled, you’d want your This pamphlet, which dependents to be financially secure. And you’d want some- is based on Wisconsin one to manage or distribute your assets just as you would yourself, if you could. The only way to assure these out- law, is issued to inform comes is to do estate planning. and not to advise. No A revocable living trust is one of several estate-plan- person should ever ning tools. You can read about others in the State Bar of apply or interpret any Wisconsin’s pamphlet, “Wills/Estate Planning: Answering Your Legal Questions.” law without the aid Should a revocable living trust be part of your estate of a trained expert plan? No simple guidelines exist to answer that question. who knows the facts, People with various levels of wealth and in different cir- because the facts may cumstances may, or may not, find a revocable living trust useful. change the application Your legal or financial adviser can help you of the law. Last revised: decide whether this option is right for you. This pam- 10/2013 phlet answers several questions to provide you basic information. Who can be the trustee? What is a revocable living trust? Any competent adult may be a trustee. Usually, you name yourself, or you and your spouse, as the trustee because A trust is a written document that names someone to you want full control of the property while you’re alive.
    [Show full text]
  • Probate and Property (35:01)
    THE COVID-19 ISSUE EFFECT OF THE COVID-19 REMOTE INK NOTARIZATION EVICTIONS AND THE VOL 35, NO 1 VIRUS ON COMMERCIAL LEASE AND REMOTE WITNESSING COVID-19 PANDEMIC JAN/FEB 2021 TRANSACTIONS DURING THE PANDEMIC A PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION | REAL PROPERTY, TRUST AND ESTATE LAW SECTION SO MANY HAVE DIED COVID-19 in America’s Nursing Homes The Section is excited to announce the RPTE Book Club. The RPTE Book Club is a lecture and Q&A Series with the authors. Each series will be a different book title within the legal field. THE COLOR OF LAW A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Join RPTE along with author Richard Rothstein as he discusses how segregation in America is the byproduct of explicit government policies at the local, state, and federal levels along with a Q&A session. Wednesday, February 24, 2021 12-1 PM CT The first 100 registrants will receive a copy of the book with their registration fee. Register at ambar.org/rptebookclub PROFESSORS’ CORNER PROFESSORS’ CORNER A monthly webinar featuring a panel of professors addressing recent cases or issues of relevance to A monthlypractitioners webinar and featuring scholars ofa panel real estate of professors or trusts addressing and estates. recent FREE cases for RPTE or issues Section of relevance members to! practitioners and scholars of real estate or trusts and estates. FREE for RPTE Section members! Register for each webinar at http://ambar.org/ProfessorsCornerRegister for each webinar at http://ambar.org/ProfessorsCorner WILLS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: TOWARDS THE SECURE ACT: RETIREMENT PLANNING SENSIBLE APPLICATION OF FORMALITIES AND MONETARY EXPECTATIONS THE LEGACIES OF RACIAL RESTRICTIVE MOORE ON POWELL AND I.R.C.
    [Show full text]
  • Ademption by Extinction: Smiting Lord Thurlow's Ghost
    ADEMPTION BY EXTINCTION: SMITING LORD THURLOW'S GHOST John C. Paulus* INTRODUCTION Testator (T)properly executes a will giving his farm, Blackacre, to his daughter (D), and the rest of his property to his son (S). T lives with D on Blackacre. Three years later T sells Blackacre and buys Whiteacre. T and D live together on Whiteacre until T's death four years later. From numerous utterances and acts it is very evident that T wants D to have Whiteacre for her own after his death. Will Whiteacre go to D or S? In most (maybe all) of the states, the answer would be, "S." The identity rule enunciated by Lord Thurlow in 1786 is followed.' As indicated by its application to T, D, and S, the dominating philosophy can bring forth some unsatisfactory results. Lord Thurlow's opinion calls for the application of a simple test in determining whether or not a specific devise adeems: If the asset identified as the exclusive subject of the devise is not held by the testator at his death, the devise fails.' Ademption by extinction, as this problem area is uniformly called, is reduced to a matter of identifying, if possible, the devised item in the estate.' The most often quoted statement by Lord Thurlow is: "And I do * Professor of Law, Willamette University. Visiting Professor of Law, Texas Tech University 1970-71. 1. Ashburner v. Macguire, 29 Eng. Rep. 62 (Ch. 1786). This hypothetical is similar to the facts in Ashburner in that the testator sells the devised asset (Blackacre). Three years later in Stanley v.
    [Show full text]
  • Instructions for Small Estate Affidavit
    INSTRUCTIONS FOR SMALL ESTATE AFFIDAVIT TALK TO A LAWYER IF YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND YOUR DUTIES OR ANY PART OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS! If you make a mistake, you may have to personally pay the cost of the mistakes and loss to the estate. The Affidavit will be filed with the court and has legal consequences. These instructions are not a complete statement of the law. You are responsible for following all Oregon laws, even those not explained here. Contact the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service if you need help finding a lawyer or have questions about the Bar’s Modest Means Program. Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service - www.oregonstatebar.org Phone: 503.684.3763 or toll-free in Oregon at 800.452.7636 BEFORE YOU START Make sure there are no other probate cases filed on this estate. Go to www.courts.oregon.gov to search online case records or call your local court for help searching. DO NOT SIGN THE AFFIDAVIT YET! Your signature must be notarized by a court clerk or notary public. You will need photo identification. Sign the Affidavit in the presence of the notary or clerk. Parties o You are the Affiant (the person completing the Affidavit). Affiants have specific legal duties under ORS 114.505 to 114.560. The person who died is the Decedent o You will need the death certificate and the will (if any) o You need a certified copy of the death certificate. You can get the death certificate from the funeral home or the Office of Vital Statistics.
    [Show full text]
  • 26. Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act
    CHAPTER 8.1 26. UNIFORM DISCLAIMER OF PROPERTY INTERESTS ACT. Drafting note: Existing Chapter 8.1 has been relocated to proposed Subtitle V due to its applicability to both probate and nonprobate transfers. Existing Chapter 8.1 is based on the Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws in 1999 as both a stand-alone act and a part of the Uniform Probate Code. Virginia enacted the Act in 2003. There is little variation between the language of the Act as promulgated and as adopted in Virginia. § 64.1-196.1 64.2-2600. Definitions. In As used in this chapter: "Disclaimant" means the person to whom a disclaimed interest or power would have passed had the disclaimer not been made. "Disclaimed interest" means the interest that would have passed to the disclaimant had the disclaimer not been made. "Disclaimer" means the refusal to accept an interest in or power over property. "Fiduciary" means a personal representative, trustee, agent acting under a power of attorney, or other person authorized to act as a fiduciary with respect to the property of another person. "Jointly held property" means property held in the name of two of more persons under an arrangement in which all holders have concurrent interests and under which the last surviving holder is entitled to the whole of the property and includes, without limitation, property held as tenants by the entirety. "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, government, governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, public corporation, or any other legal or commercial entity.
    [Show full text]
  • Administering Oregon Estates: 2012 Edition
    Administering Oregon Estates: 2012 Edition Cosponsored by the Estate Planning and Administration Section Friday, November 16, 2012 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon 6 General CLE credits and .5 Ethics credit ADMINISTERING OREGON ESTATES: 2012 EDITION SECTION PLANNERS Holly N. Mitchell, Duffy Kekel LLP, Portland Jack V. Rounsefell, Attorney at Law, Gresham Katharine L. West, Wyse Kadish LLP, Portland Eric J. Wieland, Samuels Yoelin Kantor LLP, Portland OREGON STATE BAR ESTATE PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION SECTION EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE D. Charles Mauritz, Chair Marsha Murray-Lusby, Chair-Elect Eric H. Vetterlein, Past Chair Jeffrey M. Cheyne, Treasurer Matthew Whitman, Secretary Amy E. Bilyeu Eric R. Foster Janice E. Hatton Amelia E. Heath Melanie E. Marmion Holly N. Mitchell Jeffrey G. Moore Timothy O’Rourke Ian T. Richardson Erik S. Schimmelbusch Kenneth Sherman Margaret Vining The materials and forms in this manual are published by the Oregon State Bar exclusively for the use of attorneys. Neither the Oregon State Bar nor the contributors make either express or implied warranties in regard to the use of the materials and/or forms. Each attorney must depend on his or her own knowledge of the law and expertise in the use or modification of these materials. Copyright © 2012 OREGON STATE BAR 16037 SW Upper Boones Ferry Road P.O. Box 231935 Tigard, OR 97281-1935 Administering Oregon Estates: 2012 Edition ii Table OF CONTENTS Schedule . v Faculty . vii 1A. Alternatives to Probate . 1A–i — David C. Streicher, Black Helterline LLP, Portland, Oregon 1B. Probate Jurisdiction and Procedures . 1B–i — Nikki C.
    [Show full text]
  • Is a Living Trust For
    Living Trust More Certainty as to Property Distribution also be lost by the use of joint tenancy and other probate This pamphlet is based on Kansas law and is published at Death avoidance devices. to provide general public information, not specific legal advice. The facts involved in a specific case determine By ensuring that all property is properly titled in Increased Paperwork the application of the law. a living trust, there is greater assurance that all of A trust may involve more paperwork than when proper- your property will be governed by its terms. Since ty is owned individually. For instance, if you are not the Lawyer Referral Service wills only govern probate assets, assets that pass out- trustee of your own trust, the trust may be required to Is a (800) 928-3111 side the probate process, such as those held in joint file a separate tax return, although no additional income Contact the Kansas Bar Association (KBA) Lawyer tenancy or under beneficiary designations, are often taxes would be owed. The trustee is usually directed to overlooked. Referral Service for the name and contact information of account to the grantor or beneficiaries. In addition, or- a lawyer with experience in a particular area. Living Trust dinarily extra documents must be prepared to transfer What are the disadvantages of title to the trust. Ask-a-Lawyer a living trust? (800) 928-3111 for Drafting Expenses Do you give up control of your Ask-a-Lawyer will connect you with an attorney who can Your attorney will charge a fee to draft your trust.
    [Show full text]
  • Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter a Publication of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association
    NYSBA FALL 2009 | VOL. 42 | NO. 3 Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter A publication of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association A Message from the Section Chair During the past few several years. Less than a decade later, the 120-hour months, the Section has rule has become law!) been actively involved with Assembly successes: Both the renunciation and the several legislative initia- exempt-property bills were passed by the Assembly in tives, with varying degrees June of 2009. The bills were forwarded to the Senate, of success. In this column, which failed to act before its session ended. I’d like to bring you up to date on these initiatives and on our Section’s latest CLE Same-Sex Marriage Proposal activities in connection with Our Section can justifi ably take pride in its ef- the new Power of Attorney forts over the years to secure equal rights for same-sex Ira M. Bloom legislation, which went into couples. Most recently, these efforts in the form of effect on September 1. same-sex marriage legislation were spearheaded by the Estate Planning Committee under Ian W. MacLean Affi rmative Legislative Proposals As discussed in the Newsletter last quarter, six bills were presented to the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Inside Committees: enactment of a 120-hour rule to replace Editor’s Message ................................................................................3 the existing actual simultaneous-death rule under (Ian W. MacLean) EPTL 2-1.6; revisions to EPTL 2-1-11(renunciation sec- Identifying and Locating Distributees ............................................4 tion); providing parity when exercising the right of (Lori Perlman) election under EPTL 5-1-1-A(d)(2); exempt property Ademption and the Power of Attorney ..........................................7 reforms under EPTL 5-3.1; interest on legacies amend- (Jaclene D’Agostino) ment under EPTL 11-1.5(d), and a new directed trust- What Every Attorney Should Know About the New eeship statute.
    [Show full text]
  • Probating a Will That Is Not Notarized
    PROBATING A WHAT IS A WILL WILL THAT IS THAT IS NOT NOTARIZED? NOT NOTARIZED When a person dies leaving a will that is What must be done if a person dies The law recognizes two types of wills that are The probate procedure required by the law is intended to: not notarized: not notarized, you must verify its validity. leaving a will that is not notarized? + Confirm that the person is deceased. 1. The holograph will YOU MUST VERIFY ITS VALIDITY! + Ascertain that the will is his own and that on first In order to qualify as a “holograph will”, the will must be sight it appears to be his last. entirely written and signed by the person himself, without Consult your + Verify that the will meets the legal conditions notary! using a computer or other technical device. It is generally required to be valid. hand written, but if a person cannot use his hands, he may write with his mouth or his feet. The probate procedure also allows those who are settling the succession, as well as the heirs named in the will, to 2. The will before two witnesses consult it. The notary or the clerk may provide them with To qualify as a “will before two witnesses”, the will must be true copies or excerpts of the will. signed by the person in front of two witnesses. It may be written out by the person himself or by another person. It Are you questioning the validity of a will? may also be drafted on a computer or otherwise (by filling out a form, for example).
    [Show full text]