Taking care in your estate planning is important because you want to avoid possible errors that could harm the implementation of those plans. Some mistakes are easily avoided by hiring a Pasadena, CA estate planning law firm. This way, you get the peace of mind that your future has been protected and that minor mistakes won’t harm your intentions for asset transfer. However, mistakes can and do happen in estate planning.
Most states require that creators of estate planning documents such as a will comply with very strict formalities. For example, this requires most people to sign and date their will and to have someone witness it.
In California, electronic wills are not permitted or recognized. In the past, a testator needed to create a form of will with a signature of two witnesses as well as their own signature. Testators in California also had the option to create a holographic will, which did not require any outside witnesses but did require that it be created in the testator’s handwriting. A harmless error provision was adopted by the Uniform Law Commission in 1990, and later Probate Code section 6110 was amended in 2008.
If a will is not executed with required formalities and with the assistance of witnesses, it can still be deemed valid if the proponent otherwise establishes through convincing and clear evidence that he or she intended that document to be their will. It is always best to work with a Pasadena area estate planning attorney to verify that you have complied with all necessary state laws and have created a document that accomplishes the goals you intended.
