Wills FAQs
	What is the difference between a living will and a last will? Can my Executor and Principal Heir be the same person? Do I need to record my last will with the county? What is probate? How long does it take? Can I avoid probate? Why can’t I include life insurance in my will? Who should have a copy of my last will? My state doesn’t notarize Wills. What should I do? Is this will legal in my state? How do I get a notary and three witnesses together? What happens if I die without a will? Is my out-of-state will valid if I move? What makes a will legal? How can I create a joint will for my spouse/partner? How do I create a mirror will with LegalZoom? Can I make a handwritten will? Do I have to file my will with a court or in public records? Can I disinherit someone? What should I do with my will after I sign it? Can I change or revoke my will after I make it? What happens if you make a new will (which revokes all prior wills) and then decide that you like your old will better? What happens to my debts after I die? Where can I get my will notarized? What is the difference between a living will and a last will? A living will is a document outlining very specific wishes that apply while you are still alive. It simply states that you do not want artificial life support if you become terminally ill and/or enter into an irreversible coma or vegetative state. A last will and testament is a document controlling who receives your property, who will be the guardian of any children, and who will manage your estate upon your death. Can my Executor and Principal Heir be the same person? Yes. The Executor and Principal Heir may be the same person. Do I need to record my last will with the county? No. A last will and testament is not recorded with any court or government office. You will want to keep a signed copy of it for yourself, and you may want to give copies to your Executor and Alternate Executor as well. (Please see the question “Who should have a copy of my last will?”). What is probate? How long does it take? Can I avoid probate? Probate is the legal proceeding in which a court determines how an estate will be divided. The court looks at your last will and testament to determine how to distribute your property and follows the will unless it is contested by your heirs. Probate can become very expensive if you do not have a will since the court will need to appoint an administrator. This can take a long time and cost a significant sum of money. Without a will, the court will often charge a hefty fee (sometimes 5-15% of the value of your property) to probate your estate. Why can’t I include life insurance in my will? Life insurance already has beneficiaries, and a life insurance policy does not go through probate court. For more detailed information, please contact your life insurance company. Who should have a copy of my last will? Generally, petitioners give a copy of their last will to their Executor, and any other individual they trust. Also, with LegalZoom’s Vault package, we store a copy of your signed will in three separate and secure locations in case you lose all copies while you are still alive. My state doesn’t notarize Wills. What should I do? Wills do not get notarized in any state. LegalZoom provides a separate one-page document that comes with your Will, called a self-proving affidavit. This is the affidavit the notary will sign, acknowledging that he or she witnessed the signing of your last will, by you and three witnesses. Is this will legal in my state? LegalZoom prepares wills in accordance with the laws and regulations of each customer’s respective state. Once your will has the required signatures, it then becomes a legal and binding document. How do I get a notary and three witnesses together? If your notary is going to vouch for you, you do not have to know the witnesses. They can be three people at the place of the notary. What happens if I die without a will? If you do not make a will, state laws determine who gets your property, and this can be both expensive and time-consuming. This process is called "intestate succession." In most states, your property will first be divided among your spouse and children. If you are not married and have no children, then your property will be distributed to your next of kin as determined by the state. If the courts cannot find your next of kin, then your property goes to the state. Is my out-of-state will valid if I move? If a valid will was made while you were living in another state, it is probably valid in your new state. However, if your will was not "self-proved," it may not be accepted by certain courts until the witnesses sign an oath swearing they saw you sign your will. Because of the expenses involved in finding your witnesses, it is probably best to rewrite your will after moving to another state. Most states allow a will to be self-proved. The LegalZoom Will includes a self-proving affidavit so that, if you do move to another state, the will would likely be valid without the expense of tracking down witnesses. What makes a will legal? There are only a couple of requirements to make a will valid and legal. The first is Soundness of Mind. The person signing the will cannot be mentally ill or disabled and must be acting of his or her own free will without undue influence from others. The second requirement is Witnesses. At least two people (three in some states) must watch you sign the will. They cannot be related to you and cannot be entitled to receive anything under the will. In addition to these provisions, many state laws also require that a will's appearance be uniform: all important sections must be entirely typewritten or computer generated, or they must be entirely handwritten. You do not have to get your will notarized. However, LegalZoom allows you to "self-prove" the will, which requires that a separate affidavit be notarized. The advantage of self-proving is that your witnesses do not have to be tracked down after your death. How can I create a joint will for my spouse/partner? LegalZoom does not offer joint wills for couples for the following reasons: Joint wills are probated when the first party to the will dies, preventing the will from being modified thereafter by the surviving spouse, since both parties must agree to any modifications. Joint wills prevent a surviving spouse or partner to change his or her mind about how the property should be distributed. Joint wills can create tax uncertainties and generate unnecessary taxes. Joint wills can tie up property for years, pending the death of the second spouse/partner, thereby making the joint will useless and outdated. For these and other reasons, LegalZoom offers a “mirror” will that allows a couple to make two Wills, the second at a discounted price. The vast majority of our married or partnered customers opt to create “mirror” wills (two wills that more or less mirror each other's choices for executors, guardians, alternate heirs, etc.). To take advantage of this option, simply log into your LegalZoom account, and submit one Will for yourself. Then, start a second Will questionnaire, and choose the option to “Create a Mirror Will.” How do I create a mirror will with LegalZoom? Once you have submitted an order for a last will with LegalZoom, simply use your existing LegalZoom account to create a second will. Once you choose to create another will, our system will ask you whether or not you would like to create a mirror will. You will automatically be awarded an instant $10 rebate on your mirror will. Can I make a handwritten will? A handwritten will is called a "holographic will." It is valid in about 25 states so long as all material provisions and clauses are entirely handwritten. However, because most handwritten will are not as in-depth as the LegalZoom Will and because they are oftentimes not properly written, they are generally not recommended. The court can be unusually strict in determining whether a Holographic Will is authentic. More importantly, we do not recommend that people revise their wills by hand. Do I have to file my will with a court or in public records? You do not have to file your will with a court or any other government authority immediately after you sign it. Upon probate, however, the will must be filed with the court, and at that time it becomes public record. Can I disinherit someone? You can leave anyone out of your will without a problem, unless it is your spouse or your child. Many laws have been enacted to protect spouses and minor children. If you wish to disinherit your spouse, one of your children or give one child less than another, you should clearly state that intention in your will and the reasons why. The law has special protections for minor children. For instance, they are protected from the loss of the family home. You cannot give your home to someone else if your child will have to move from the home. What should I do with my will after I sign it? After you sign your will, you should keep it in a safe and accessible place. Be sure the person you appointed as your personal representative knows where you placed your will, or has a signed copy. You do not have to file it with the court or public records. However, depending on how busy and crowded they are, some courts may store your will. Can I change or revoke my will after I make it? You can revoke a will any time before death by making a new will, which states that all prior wills are no longer valid. To revoke a Will without making a new one, simply intentionally tear it up, deface it, burn it or destroy it. If this is done accidentally, then the will is not revoked. What happens if you make a new will (which revokes all prior wills) and then decide that you like your old will better? You need to make an entirely new will that replaces the most recent will and mimics the old one. The old will is invalid and cannot be revived after it has been revoked. What happens to my debts after I die? The general rule is that all debts must first be paid before assets are distributed. Your outstanding credit card balances, for instance, will be paid before any money or gifts are distributed to your heirs. A major exception to this general rule is for "secured debts," such as home loans or auto loans. In the case of secured debts, property can be distributed with its debt. In other words, let's say you have a car worth $10,000 and have a loan on the car of $5,000. You can leave the car to someone, but it will be that person's obligation to pay off the loan. Where can I get my will notarized? LegalZoom does not notarize documents. You can usually find a notary at a UPS store or similar packaging stores. Financial institutions such as banks also offer notary services. The Yellow Pages has lists of traveling notaries. Also, you can contact your city or county clerk to find a notary. Please be advised the notary will only be signing the “Self-Proving Affidavit” and the “Statement of Interment.” These documents should not be stapled to your last will; they are separate documents. The last will itself does not have to be notarized. Point of origin credit for this file is given to LegalZoom.com, Inc., a registered and bonded legal document assistant, #0104, Los Angeles County. LegalZoom.com is not a law firm and is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.