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Make Sure You Know Where Your Will is Located to Avoid a Will Contest in the Orlando, Florida Area

Losing your will can cause many problems. What can you do if you lose your will? There are several options. If you are still alive and competent, you could see an attorney to prepare a new will. If you die, and your relatives find out that you lost your will and now there is no will, here’s what they can do. After your relatives experience panic, frustration, and stress, they can hire an attorney to assist them in the matter. 

How Could This Happen? 

Maybe you chose to keep your will for yourself and not have your attorney hold it in their fireproof safe. Maybe your attorney retired, and you got your will and then lost it. Maybe you failed to pick up your will when your attorney retired and sent you a letter to retrieve your will. Maybe the attorney has died. These are all situations you want to avoid. 

What Can You Do in This Situation? 

Hire an attorney to help you. The proponent of a lost or destroyed will can attempt to prove the will. However, that is not an easy job. It is a difficult task. That is why getting yourself in such a predicament should be avoided at all costs. Make sure your will or your loved one’s will is in a safe place. 

If the original will in a testator’s possession is lost before his or her death, and the original will cannot be located after his or her death, there is a presumption that the testator destroyed the will with the intention of revoking it. However, to prove the will, you must do the following: 

1. Establish the content of the will,
2. Show that the will was properly executed, and 
3. Overcome the presumption that the will was intentionally destroyed. 

How to Prove a Will

The content of the will can be established by the testimony of at least two disinterested witnesses, or by giving the court a correct copy of the will together with the testimony of at least one disinterested witness. So, if you are a person who may reasonably be expected to be affected by the outcome of the will contest, then you are not a disinterested party. You cannot come in and say “My parent was leaving me the house in the will.” This is because you have an interest in the outcome. You can bring in the attorney that prepared the will. However, if the attorney is deceased or cannot be located, that creates a problem. 

The attorney who drafted the will can prove the will is properly executed. To show that a will is properly executed, you must show that it is signed at the end of the will by the testator in the presence of two attesting witnesses who sign the will in the presence of the testator and each other, as well as a notary. 

The presumption that the testator revoked the lost or destroyed will can be rebutted by competent substantial evidence. You can show this by showing that someone with access to the will and an adverse pecuniary interest had the opportunity to destroy the will. 

If you have more questions regarding a Probate Administration matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.