Role of the Probate Attorney in a will?
Will is a legal document that a person or individual drafts. To express their wishes on how their inventory, assets, estate, and other belongings will be distributed after their death. The person can do his estate and financial planning with the help of a Probate Attorney in a will.
A will requires the person to name an executor who will be responsible for the execution of the said will according to instructions given in the choice. This Executor has to manage the assets and estate until the final distribution. The Will also includes the names of beneficiaries that will get the properties and the inventory written in the will after the testator’s demise.
Types of wills
There are different types of wills:
- Nuncupative: Limited to military or sailors and is an oral or dictated will
- Holographic will: Written by the testator himself
- Self-proved: With affidavits of subscribing witness
- Notarial will: Will be prepared by a civil-law notary in a public forum.
- Mystic: It sealed until death
- Unsolemn Will: No Executor name
- Solemn will: It has Executor’s name, and the testator will sign and witnesses
- E-Will: Electronic Will
What is a Trust?
Trust is a legal relationship in which a holder of a right gives that to another person or entity who must keep and use it for benefit. With legal and strategic trust, one can ensure that the chosen beneficiaries receive and benefit from their inheritance after their demise.
Will creates a testamentary trust that arises after the death of the person who entrusted the right. However, only Judicial proceedings will break these trusts.
What is an E- Will?
E-will creation is online by using electronic signatures. A digital will easily store and transmit using an electronic device since it has a digital format. This makes the process of creating a will more straightforward and accessible.
This process of creating or drafting will eliminate the need for hard copies and validate the will created by you if made from a trusted source.
As long as there is acceptance in the state or the place you live, E-will acts and does all the works of a traditional will.
The E- will allow us to have version control and is emergency friendly. Not only that, E-will allows electronic notarization and remote witnessing.
Role of a Probate Attorney when E-will and trust are present?
A probate lawyer will offer his services in case of probate happens in a probate court. To do that, the Probate court must validate the E- wall. To prove an E-will is valid, one must show that the will is placed in writing by the testator himself using an electronic device, that electronic signatures are verified, and that proper notarization has taken place.
The Probate attorney has to prepare the probate application, usually a standard form for the probate process. But, first, find a witness to the will who can validate the choice; the witness needs to confirm the deceased’s identity and can identify the dead’s signature.
The probate attorney must prepare an affidavit where the witness identifies the signature and the deceased. This affidavit will act as an exhibit of the will. Next, apply on behalf of the Executor and counsel the Executor with the process. The application is eventually reviewed and, after validation, is issued for probate.
Are E-wills the future?
E-wills or electronic wills are becoming a reality. The ability to draft, sign and store a choice online or on any electronic device is becoming a part of the legal process.
For the probate litigators, these E wills leave room for undue influence and shenanigans whenever a lawyer isn’t present.
All of this shows us that despite the benefits that these e-wills provide, there is still some time and work to be done before we can rely on these wills, but they do have a role in our legal process in the future.
Conclusion
This article teaches us what a will is and how the probate process works when a choice is present. The purpose of this article was to get the readers accustomed to what wills and trusts are. And, What are various types of intentions, such as Electronic wills?
