subject: Wills And Probate [print this page] If we leave this world, our material properties are left behind. To facilitate the transfer of ownership of the properties, a will is needed. But before a will is recognized by the court of law as valid, there are some requirements to be fulfilled. The process is called the probate of wills. The 2 common kinds of a will are the notarial and holographic, and each kind has different requirements.
For a holographic or handwritten will, there are stringent requirements to be met. One requirement of the handwritten will is that it must be completely written by the testator of the will himself. There should be no outside interference when the will is written and signed by himself. Another requirement of the will is that the person is psychologically sane. This type of will does not need any witness. When all these requirements are met, the wills probate will be subject again to the court of law for review.
For a notarial will, the testator of the will is making the will but this time there is the participation of a lawyer.
The lawyer is there to guide the testator of the will to the requirements of the law and notarize it. There is also the need of witnesses that do not have any interest to the will. When these are fulfilled, the draft is subject again to review by the court of law.
When the wills probate passes the first batch of requirements, the court of laws will subject the will again to other requirements of the law for its enforcement. This is to ensure that the requirements of the law for the distribution of the properties of the decedent are complied.
In each state, there are different minimum requirements that are mandated by law as partitions to be received by the heirs. This means that there is a certain minimum amount that each living heir of the testator must receive that is mandated by law to make sure that each heir is not left out.If the will is not granted by the probate, the terms that the maker of the will is not followed and the default will created by the law is enforced.
