BBC reports that 20% of Wills in the UK May Contain Mistakes
The BBC reports that the Legal Services Board (LSB), which oversees the profession in England and Wales, said 20% of wills contained mistakes. Apparently, anyone can set up a will-writing service but the LSB wants all providers to be regulated. The LSB reports systematic problems with will-writing including unfair sales practices and fraud and deception. [...]
Is There an Attorney Client Privilege in a Will Contest?
When a suit is filed contesting a will, the attorney who prepared the will may not be involved in the will contest. Since he is the one who supposedly prepared the will at the request of the testator, he would have some knowledge of the testator’s condition at the time the will was executed as [...]
Does a Bank Have to Return Money to an Estate that it Let the Wrong Person Withdraw?
In two recent cases in the San Antonio area, the Texas Supreme Court was asked to decide if two banks were required to return money to an estate that the banks had paid out to a person with fraudulent papers. The facts were that a former county employee who worked in the probate section of [...]
Who Has the Burden of Proof When Contesting a Will?
In Texas the burden of proof depends on when the will contest is filed. If the will is contested before it is admitted to probate, the burden of proof is on the person who is offering the will for probate. If the will is contested after the will is admitted to probate, the burden of [...]
In a will contest, can you recover your attorney’s fees if they were reasonable and necessary?
The probate code provides that if you offer a will for probate in good faith and with just cause, you can recover your reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees even if you lose. In a recent will contest, the proponent offered a 2003 will for probate. The contestants contested the 2003 will and offered an older [...]
Can you probate a will after four years?
The Texas Probate Code, ยง73, requires that a will be probated within four years of the death of the testator “unless it be shown by proof that the party applying for such probate was not in default in failing to present the same for probate within the four years…” So the question in all of [...]
Can you incorporate another document into your will?
Some wills make reference to documents outside the will to dispose of property. If the other document is sufficiently identified and was in existence when the will was made, such a will can be valid. Most of the time, however, references to documents outside the will cause a challenge to the will. To survive the [...]
Can a codicil revive a revoked will?
A codicil is an addition or supplement to a will. Someone may have been born or died since the original will was executed. A codicil is an easy way to make additions or deletions to a will without having to redo the entire will. However, the codicil has to be executed with the same formalities [...]
When a will is found after probate, does the two or four year limitations period apply?
In two cases where wills were offered for probate more than two years after a prior probate judgment, one court held that the second will could be offered and the other court held that it could not. In the first case, an older (1965) will was admitted to probate. More than two years later, a [...]
What is the doctrine of “Dependent Relative Revocation?”
A will can be revoked by a subsequent, valid will stating that a prior will is revoked or by the physical act of destroying it. For more information and a complete discussion on revoking wills, click here. In general, a will once revoked cannot be “unrevoked” or revived unless the will is reexecuted with the [...]
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- In Developing Countries, Lack of Inheritance Rights for Women May Depress the Country’s Economy
- Do the Witnesses to a Will Have to Know They are Witnessing a Will?
- BBC reports that 20% of Wills in the UK May Contain Mistakes
- Is There an Attorney Client Privilege in a Will Contest?
- Change In Massachusetts’ Probate Law Benefits Spouses.
- Do Ex-pats Worry About Inheritance Laws?
- “You never really know a person until you’ve shared an inheritance with them”
- Will contest in Australia.
- Can you create a trust with my money?
- Does a Bank Have to Return Money to an Estate that it Let the Wrong Person Withdraw?