Law Outside the Box

In this posting, you will find the first page of a Will.  Can you spot what is wrong with this Will?  Hint:  There are three problems.

Are handwritten notes valid? 

Problem No. 1:  Abraham Simpson decided a few years after having his Will prepared that he wanted to make sure his grandson Bart received his stamp collection.  Abraham dated and signed his name and stated that Bart was to receive his stamp collection.  Regardless of his good intention, Abraham Simpson’s handwritten addition will not be considered valid in Minnesota even though he signed and dated the handwritten note.  Bart is out-of-luck

Problem No. 2:  Abraham Simpson decided one day that he no longer wanted Seymour Skinner to receive an inheritance.  Instead, Abraham wished to have Waylon Smithers receive 5% of his estate.  Abraham crossed out Seymour Skinner’s name.  This cross-out does not mean that Seymour Skinner is disinherited!  In fact, a probate court judge is likely to rule that Seymour Skinner is still entitled to 10% of Abraham’s estate despite the fact his name was crossed out by Abraham himself.  Crossing out someone’s name is not a way to disinherit that person out of a Will.  Waylon is out-of-luck  

Problem No. 3:  Abraham Simpson decides that Ralph Wiggum should also receive an inheritance.  He adds in Ralph Wiggum without signing or dating that addition to his Will.  It does not matter.  A court is unlikely to consider Ralph Wiggum as someone who can inherit from Abraham even if it is in Abraham’s handwriting.  Ralph is out-of-luck

Solution:

If Abraham Simpson wanted to make changes to his Will, he could have had the Will amended formally or else he could have had an entirely new Will prepared and this original Will destroyed. 

If Abraham chose to have his existing Will amended, he would need to have those changes to his Will prepared on a separate document and signed/dated/witnessed and notarized to ensure that the Will Amendment (also known as a Will Codicil) was valid.

The process of amending or changing a Will should never involve handwritten changes on the Will itself.  Even if those handwritten changes are done by the Will preparer or signed and dated, it is unlikely the court will consider those changes as valid.  In fact, the court is likely to invalidate those changes and revert to the original typed language of the Will.