How best to add a change or addendum to a Will?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
How best to add a change or addendum to a Will?
My mother recently discovered that my sister, who had access to mom’s checking account, has been using that account to pay her bills. Mom had never checked her statement. I discovered the problem. Can mom compose a statement that itemizes and totals all the items and state that amount is to be deducted from my sister’s share of the estate, have it notarized, and kept with the original Will? She had just had her will rewritten before this problem was discovered and didn’t want to have to pay to have a new one done. Would thisbe legal?
Asked on November 6, 2011 under Estate Planning, Washington
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
If your mother wishes to have an addendum to her Will that was just drafted by a lawyer and does not wish to pay for a re-write to include offsets debited from what your sister has improperly taken from her checking account, she can do a holographic addendum making edits to her original Will.
A holographic addendum to a Will is written in the hand of the person who is making the addendum and is dated. The addendum should reference the prior Will and make the necessary changes as desired. I recommend that your mother simply have the attorney who drafted the original Will draft another one to avoid possible mistakes in the process that could occur if your mother does the addendum herself.
Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.