Practice Areas

Estate Planning

A will is an instrument that meets the formal requirements of due execution by the statutes of the appropriate state that usually directs the disposition of a person's property at death. Therefore, an instrument that is operative during the makers lifetime cannot be a Will.

For a Will to be valid, the person must intend the instrument operate as his or her Will. As such, intent will be found only if the person intended to dispose of property, intended the disposition to occur only upon his death, and intended that the instrument in question accomplish the disposition. The maker must be of sound mind in order for the Will to be valid.

Probate proceedings are used to judicially determine that an instrument is the duly executed last Will of the decedent. At the probate proceeding, a personal representative is appointed to carry out the estate administration. The personal representative is called an "executor" if named in the Will and an "administrator" if named by the court.

In a probate proceeding the following must be proved: That the testator is dead, that the formalities of execution were observed, and that the notice requirements for probate have been complied with.

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