How Probate Court Handles Multiple, Conflicting Wills

When we talk about wills, we often discuss how important it is to make a will, and the problems that arise when there is no will. But we don’t as often discuss the opposite problem: what happens when there is more than one will.

Why Would There be Multiple Wills?

There are a number of situations, where more than one will can show up. They include

• The deceased altered his or her will, but the new will doesn’t say it’s a modification or intended to replace the old one, so both seemingly are valid
• The deceased forgot he or she made a prior will, or thought it was lost, so a new one was created
• The deceased made a new will because he or she was not mentally competent, or else, was under undue influence of someone else, and was coerced to make a second will

Having two wills isn’t always a problem, and in fact there are times where two wills may be advisable. For example, if you have property in two different states, or if you acquire additional property (or have additional family members later in life) and you want a second, supplemental will, to cover property or people not covered in your first will

Contradiction in Multiple Wills.

But other times, when there are two (or more) wills that suddenly appear, their terms may contradict. There is just no way to carry out the wishes of both wills, because they say different things about the same property or the same people.

There are some rules that a probate court will use, to determine which will is the operative will, which must be followed.

Time Matters

The most obvious rule is that the most recent will, will be the one assumed to be valid. If wills are dated, this is an easy thing to ascertain, but they aren’t always dated. If there is no date, the text of the will may provide some clues.

For example, if Will 1 mentions a child as being a minor and Will 2 mentions that same child as being an adult, it’s clear Will 2 is the more recent.

If there are witnesses who signed the wills, and they can be located, they can testify as to when they signed the will.

Condition and Formalities

A probate court can even look at the physical condition of the will. If a will is found torn up, crumpled, and under a bed, it may be an indicator that the deceased never intended for that will to be valid or else, intended for the will never to be found.

A probate court can also look to formalities. If one will is validly executed with all the legal requirements, and another is not the court may opt to recognize the validly executed will, even if that will was executed before the more recent one.

Do you have a probate problem, or a probate case? Call the West Palm Beach probate lawyers at the Law Offices of Larry E. Bray today for help with your probate case.

Source:

empathy.com/will/which-will-what-to-do-if-your-loved-one-left-multiple-wills