Is there a survival requirement? Most wills require that beneficiaries must survive the deceased person by a certain period of time, often five or 30 days, before they can inherit.Who are the beneficiaries? These are the people who inherit the property.Who is named as the executor or personal representative? This is the person who is in charge of settling the estate.When you are reading a will, here's what you need to find out: Instead, reading a will is like reading any legal document-take it slow, look up words that you do not know, and focus on what the document actually says, as opposed to what you wish it would say. Hardly any families have a meeting with a lawyer to read the will aloud. If an estate does have to go through probate, though, filing the will is the first step in getting that process started. Here's a link to your state's probate courts.Įven though the law requires that a will be submitted to the local probate court, there are really no actual penalties for not doing so, especially if the estate is too small for probate to be required. Once lodged, the will becomes a public record, to be read by anyone who's interested in what it says. When a person dies and leaves behind a will, whoever has possession of the will is supposed to submit it to the probate court in the county where that person died. This is sometimes called "lodging" the will. In that case, the person's estate will be subject to the state's rules about how inherits when there is no will. If, after a thorough search, no one can find a will at all, you'll have to conclude that there is no will. If no one else comes forward with an original will for that person, and no other evidence can be found that another will was created, the court may accept a copy of a will. If all you can find is a copy, you can submit that to the probate court and explain to the court that you couldn't locate the original. Ideally, you want to find the original, signed will, not a copy. Most people store their wills with their other important papers, sometimes in a safe deposit box, sometimes in a fireproof safe or cabinet in their homes, sometimes just in a box with other important papers. If you want to find the will of soemone who has died, where should you look? There's no official place for people to store their wills, and there's no state registry to store your will before you die. That way, it's easier to see if someone else has tried to change the will. Some states allow a person to handwrite a will (this is called a holographic will), but it's better to type one out. sign the will in front of witnesses, according to state law.name beneficiaries for his or her property, and.understand what he or she is doing (this is called legal capacity).A will also names an executor, also called a personal representative, who is the person who will settle the estate, and, if a probate is necessary, be appointed as the legal representative of the estate until it is distributed to the will's beneficiaries.Ī will doens't need a lot of magic words to be valid. If the person has young children, the will usually also nominates guardians for them-someone who would raise the children if the parents couldn't. A will is a legal document in which a person, the testator, states his or her wishes for the distribution of property at death.
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