Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: Form wills

I'm sorry to hear of your impending loss. What's he sick with?

I have a checklist of twenty questions to ask to see

if a will is needed at all. (Often people write wills

to do what the law would do without one.) If you send

me your e-mail address, I'll send you the list of

questions, perhaps as an html file so that you can

check all the boxes and send back your answers to me;

I produce a lovely report based on the 20 answers.

If your father needs a will by my criteria, he should

not attempt to use a form will. Sometimes, in limited

circumstances, they work, but they are not reliable.

-- I'll take this back a little: buy the form, fill in

the blanks, DO NOT SIGN IT, but take it to an attorney;

s/he'll probably use the information filled in to create

his or her own.

Each state's laws are different in very serious ways when

it comes to inheritance and property ownership. While some

wills claim to be valid in 50 or 49 states, I've read some

form wills that were blatantly incorrect for Massachusetts,

and they were ones I found in a Massachusetts stationery

store! I was flabbergasted, flumoxed even.

There are many stories where, after a death, all

parties agree that the will mistakenly created

an incorrect (unintended) distribution of assets

but the law required adhering to the (obviously)

incorrect will anyway. The most famous case is a

form will case.

Where does he 'live' (his home residence, not

the hospital / nursing home / hospice)?

Is your Dad competent ("testamentary capacity" is determined

by a three part test administered by an attorney)? How is his

handwriting these days? Is he doing anything unusual with his

estate? Feel free to write to me at [email protected]

or [email protected] and answer these questions.

In no case should a will that matters at all be signed outside

the presence of an estate planning attorney. (Ask me also for

my 10-page instruction manual for attorneys on proper will-signing

procedures! There are dozens of gotchas which will make a will

invalid.

Re: Form wills

Yes, you can use a will kit. However, it will not be valid unless it contains certain provisions and is properly signed and witnessed. For the money involved, you should consult a lawyer to make sure it is a proper will.