Walk It Through: The Will in the Desk Drawer
A handwritten will found after a death, an old typed one with witnesses, a gift to a former spouse, and a widow left out.
After a death, the family finds a will entirely in the person's handwriting, signed, with no 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. A will contest over capacity or undue influence, and a trust, are outside these 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 shareThe part of the property a will disposes of that a surviving spouse may choose to take instead of what the will leaves: one half, or one fourth if the spouse is not a parent of the person's children.
- Holographic willA will entirely in the person's own handwriting and signed by their own hand, valid whether or not anyone witnessed it.