Walk It Through: The Will in the Drawer
An old will, a new one made self-proved, the old one torn up, and a spouse left out.
A retired grandparent wants to replace a will written decades ago.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
A simple will for a married person. Trusts, a will made in another state, and dying without any will are on their own pages.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Elective shareWhat a surviving spouse may take instead of what the will leaves: the lesser of one-third of the estate, or all of it reduced by the spouse's own separate estate.
- Self-proved willA will the maker acknowledges and the witnesses swear to before an officer authorized to give oaths, certified under official seal.