Estates and Wills in Florida: Amendments to a Will or Mistakes in Will

We can define estate planning as the managing and passing of your assets through the preparation of documents and retitling of assets.  The process of linking asset protection with estate planning is called integrated estate planning and they work together to form a comprehensive plan.

Having one without the other is incomplete.  Every person should have an estate plan so that they can control who gets their assets at death. In addition, the estate plan covers an individual should he or she become incapacitated.

A will is a document that is written by a testator designating where his or her assets will go at death.  A valid will must be executed when the testator has testamentary capacity. In other words, the testator must be of sound mind and at least 18 years old or an emancipated minor at the time the will is executed.  Testator must also understand who his or her heirs should be.

One interesting cross over issue is making changes to wills or mistakes in wills in Florida. If someone wants to change an existing will then they can execute 1 of 2 things: a codicil or a new will.

1.  A codicil is an amendment to a will and has to be signed with the same formalities as the original will.

2.  Executing a new will requires a statement that all prior wills are revoked.  Absent that statement, the will can be revoked by any act of destruction (ie: tearing the document up, shredding the document, burning the document, etc.).

You may still run into the problem of copies being used as originals where no one saw you destroy the will though, which can lead to will Contests. Another issue in wills is mistakes (ie: an incorrect name for a beneficiary). You should always proof your will before signing it to avoid potential mistakes.

Please visit my website or contact me directly if you would like any more information regarding Asset Protection or Estate Planning, or would like a copy of my best-selling books on Asset Protection (complimentary if you mention this Blog).

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