Thank you for the video and information, Zev. For anyone seeing this I must say that Zev truly is an honest lawyer, competent, and a good guy in general. He has assisted my family with prior legal assistance, and is currently assisting us with the administration of my late father's estate.
This guy clearly states (twice) that you should NOT have witnesses to your holographic will, or have the holographic will notarized, but he does not provide any reasoning or justification for this. This is in poor form and discredits his advice, regardless of his beliefs. Witnesses and notarization confirms/proves that the will was in fact written by your own hand and is not a forgery. It also provides compelling evidence that the will was not written under duress, and that the writer was of sound mind at the time of writing. No witnesses, and no notary, therefore, implies the very real possibility of a forgery or false document. In other words, without any witness or notarization, the will has no credibility. The beneficiaries are then burdened with providing additional documents to prove that the will was in fact written in the persons own hand. This however still does not prove that the will was not perhaps written under duress or force, or that the writer was of sound mind when they wrote it. Update: after inquiry to an esteemed estate lawyer, they were clear in stating yes to witnesses and no to a notary. Unfortunately, no reasoning was provided. I trust this advice though, so that’s what I will do-witness, no notary.
If you witness a holographic will with or without a notary, it no longer becomes a strict holographic will under the law, but rather a "witnessed" will that happens to be in the writer's handwriting. In that case, in order to get the will admitted to probate it will almost certainly be necessary to track down the actual witnesses after the will writer died which could be very difficult to do as it could be years after the execution of the will and the witnesses could be unlocatable or deceased. Failure to do so could render the entire will inadmissible, or at least give someone who wants to challenge the validity of the will grounds to do so. Whereas if the will is a holographic will, to prove the authenticity of the will all that need be done is to obtain the statement of one living person who can attest under penalty of perjury to recognizing the will writer's handwriting. Much easier to do. And the fact the entire will is in the handwriting of the will maker makes it much harder to claim it is a forgery. Remember, it is always best to consult an attorney when doing an estate plan, but a holographic will is a simple, legal, effective way of avoiding dying intestate.
Does having 2 witnesses invalid the holographic will? Or, is it just not necessary? It seems that 2 witnesses, although not necessary, would not necessarily harm the wills validate, but would reinforce it if questions come up. At least witnesses can recall the creation of the will, state of mind of the creator, etc.
I am planning to write a short holographic will naming 3 items (cars, boats) for my nephew. Other items such as CD investments are already filled in with other beneficiaries on each perspective financial institutions. Can someone confirm the CD items not going to be in conflict in this holographic will (vice versa)?
Thank you for the video and information, Zev. For anyone seeing this I must say that Zev truly is an honest lawyer, competent, and a good guy in general. He has assisted my family with prior legal assistance, and is currently assisting us with the administration of my late father's estate.
Thank you, Zev for this video. An estate planning lawyer suggested I do a Holograph, Will. I never heard of one before.
VERY HELPFUL DIRECTIONS ZEV
Really good vid. Thank you.
Thank you.
This guy clearly states (twice) that you should NOT have witnesses to your holographic will, or have the holographic will notarized, but he does not provide any reasoning or justification for this. This is in poor form and discredits his advice, regardless of his beliefs. Witnesses and notarization confirms/proves that the will was in fact written by your own hand and is not a forgery. It also provides compelling evidence that the will was not written under duress, and that the writer was of sound mind at the time of writing.
No witnesses, and no notary, therefore, implies the very real possibility of a forgery or false document. In other words, without any witness or notarization, the will has no credibility. The beneficiaries are then burdened with providing additional documents to prove that the will was in fact written in the persons own hand. This however still does not prove that the will was not perhaps written under duress or force, or that the writer was of sound mind when they wrote it.
Update: after inquiry to an esteemed estate lawyer, they were clear in stating yes to witnesses and no to a notary. Unfortunately, no reasoning was provided. I trust this advice though, so that’s what I will do-witness, no notary.
If you witness a holographic will with or without a notary, it no longer becomes a strict holographic will under the law, but rather a "witnessed" will that happens to be in the writer's handwriting. In that case, in order to get the will admitted to probate it will almost certainly be necessary to track down the actual witnesses after the will writer died which could be very difficult to do as it could be years after the execution of the will and the witnesses could be unlocatable or deceased. Failure to do so could render the entire will inadmissible, or at least give someone who wants to challenge the validity of the will grounds to do so. Whereas if the will is a holographic will, to prove the authenticity of the will all that need be done is to obtain the statement of one living person who can attest under penalty of perjury to recognizing the will writer's handwriting. Much easier to do. And the fact the entire will is in the handwriting of the will maker makes it much harder to claim it is a forgery. Remember, it is always best to consult an attorney when doing an estate plan, but a holographic will is a simple, legal, effective way of avoiding dying intestate.
Does having 2 witnesses invalid the holographic will? Or, is it just not necessary? It seems that 2 witnesses, although not necessary, would not necessarily harm the wills validate, but would reinforce it if questions come up. At least witnesses can recall the creation of the will, state of mind of the creator, etc.
How do you make a will if there's no property and money involved?
Do these holographic wills avoid probate 100 percent?
No. Just the opposite. A holographic will is still a will and must be presented to the probate court for acceptance.
I am planning to write a short holographic will naming 3 items (cars, boats) for my nephew. Other items such as CD investments are already filled in with other beneficiaries on each perspective financial institutions. Can someone confirm the CD items not going to be in conflict in this holographic will (vice versa)?
Is it olographic will, or holographic will?