Confirm legality of will and any trusts

Confirm legality of will

Often, a will is stored in an envelope with the name and address of the lawyer and/or law office who prepared it. If a law office was used to prepare the will, call the law office that was used to help write it to see if it is valid and you have the most recently prepared copy of the will.

If you are unaware of who prepared the will, you can call or visit a law office that does estate work and discuss the will with them. You will most likely need the service of an experienced estate (or “probate”) attorney during this process.

Keep in mind applicable state laws

It is worth mentioning that with the advent of online will-writing services and the fact that some individuals attempt to write their own wills, wills today can be created in a variety of different ways. It is important to know that state laws around the legality of these wills can vary dramatically. In some cases, a handwritten will, also known as a holographic will, is not legal. In other states, a holographic will with an original signature is perfectly acceptable. In most states, a copy of the will is not considered valid, whether it is typed or handwritten.

To be valid in those states, a will must have an original signature on it. And, it is the laws of the state of the will writer, not the state in which the executor lives, that apply in this situation. Your local probate court also is a resource you can potentially ask about the validity of the will.