Walk It Through: The Will in the Desk Drawer
A handwritten will, two witnesses on an older one, a page torn, and a divorce that changed it.
In a desk drawer is a handwritten, signed will. An older typed will had two witnesses.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
Two wills found after a death in a family without a contest. Will contests and lost wills are left out.
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 shareA surviving spouse's right to take an amount equal to 50% of the marital property portion of the augmented estate, whatever the will says.
- Exempt propertyProperty a creditor with a judgment cannot take, such as a residence up to the stated amount, one vehicle, household goods and cash up to $3,000, each amount adjusted yearly.
- Marital propertyProperty either spouse acquired during the marriage, whoever holds title, apart from gifts, inheritances and the other exclusions the law lists.
- Holographic willA will whose signature and material portions are in the testator's own handwriting, valid whether or not witnessed.