It is generally accepted - or at least widely believed - that in order
for a will to have real meaning behind it the text of the will must be
written officially and witnessed with signatures from at least one person
and ideally more. Nonetheless, as this is not always possible, there are
alternatives for people who are unable to get the necessary witnesses in
the time allowed them. There can be many reasons why someone is unable to
get the witnesses and the other things required in order to make a will -
œofficial.-• For example, the -œholographic-• will is a common
occurrence in cases where someone dies in a sudden incident of any sort.
If that person is alone, it is hardly practical for them to wait until
someone shows up who can testify to their being of sound mind, and
officially witness their last will and testament. In this case, the will
may be hand written and non-witnessed. As long as it fulfils certain
requirements, it is just as admissible as any other will. Those
requirements are fairly simple, few in number, and legally demarcated.
One such requirement is that there must be evidence that the will was
created by the testator. In the case of a hand-written will, there are
numerous ways and means to do this. A witness (who may not have signed
the will because they were not asked to or for another reason) can give
their word that the will was written by the testator as long as they are
not a direct or indirect beneficiary. The testator must also be
presumably of sound enough mind to write the will. Unless evidence
suggests the contrary, it will typically be assumed that they were - the
fact of their decision to write a will being strong evidence for this.
Finally, it must recognizably be a will - literally a wish to direct the
timely distribution of their assets to specific beneficiaries. The
famous Vse Zene will written in 1967 by Czech national Karl Tausch was,
in fact, written on the wall of his bedroom in Langen, Germany. Aware
that his death was imminent, he made the decision to make his will as
quick, simple and as understandable as possible. As he died alone, it was
acceptable to assume that he had created it. As he chose in his last
moments to write it, it was clear that he had had the intellectual
capacity to do so. And those two words of Tausch were enough to
constitute a binding will. The holographic will is a common way of
distributing the final assets for members of the armed forces and other
people who work in isolated situations. Even if you do not live in an
isolated place, if you die in one then a holographic will is acceptable.
Canadian farmer Cecil Harris was trapped under his own tractor when he
scratched into the fender of the vehicle a short message saying he left
everything to his wife, and signed it. He did indeed die, and the fender
went through probate and was allowed to stand. Disclaimer: This
article is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should
not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter.
LegalBuffet.com is a complete online resource that compares the legal
services offered by various online companies. Find the best company for
your online will needs at http://legalbuffet.com/wills-services-forms/.
Related Articles -
Will, wills, do-it-yourself wills, legal forms, online will services,
online legal services, online wills,
Email this Article to a Friend!
Receive Articles like this one direct to your email box!Subscribe for
free today!