Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: Will Execution/Filing

This is not legal advice with respect to SC law - I advise only with respect to PA and NJ law.

Are you a lawyer? In most states, non-lawyers are not permitted to practice law. Preparing a will is practicing law.

As long as your aunt is living, SHE alone should consult with a SC estates lawyer to assist her.

Generally, a beneficiary should not be involved in the writing or witnessing of a will.

Re: Will Execution/Filing

I generally agree with Mriam, although there are times I have Will beneficiaries act as the witnesses, such as when something unusual is contained in the Will and I want the beneficiaries to know about it and understand all implications of the Will's contents. This way a contest can be avoided. You run the possibility that someone in the family might contest the Will and look to invalidate it, in which case if they are successful, a different asset disposition from what your aunt wants to do might happen. I agree that an SC attorney should review this and possibly do a new Will. Since your aunt has moved to SC, their laws may differ and if a Will done out of State does not comply with the local laws where it will be probated, this could lead to problems down the road. Having a local lawyer assist, while maybe incurring some expense, will save time and a much larger expense later, especially if the format does not comply with local law, or someone wants to contest it because of how and by whom the original was done.