My cousin left his property to six of his cousins, but only one inherited it.

One time, a court-appointed attorney called me to tell me that my mother’s cousin had died without a will. The deceased had no children, spouse or siblings. The property was divided based on next of kin, in this case six cousins ​​of the deceased.

A lawyer contacted me. He was tracking down his deceased’s distant relatives, as most of his six cousins ​​were no longer living. In fact, only one cousin outlived the deceased. The descendants of each deceased cousin jointly received a one-sixth share of the deceased’s estate, less court and attorney fees.

So, about a year after this person died, my siblings and I each received an inheritance of about $9,000. One cousin who was still alive at the time was legally entitled to one-sixth of the estate, or close to $60,000. The law uses a subjective formula, as anyone would expect, without taking into account whether potential heirs are eligible or need to inherit.

court documents

This makes sense, but I can’t help but think that the deceased cousin would not have wanted most of his wealth awarded to this older, extremely wealthy cousin who owned a personal fortune worth over $30 million. This person received the lion’s share of his deceased’s estate.

After the probate process was over, I requested copies of court documents to learn more about my distant relative. At that time, I felt an unexpected surprise. The court documents included a document signed by the lawyer and the deceased, titled ‘Will’, leaving all of their assets to me and my siblings. The deceased was his closest person.

When I asked my lawyer why I said there was no will, they pointed out that the will had no witness signatures. My mother’s cousin had a wish, expressed that wish in writing, and signed the will in front of a lawyer, but without a witness for the signing.

As I learned from this experience, a signed will is not legally a “will,” even if it is labeled as such, unless it is written by an attorney and is not witnessed. Perhaps this is only true in our state, but it was a shocking lesson.

As you’ve often warned, I hope those of you who think a hand-signed note is enough will think again. The attorney’s fee to prepare a formal will is worth the peace of mind it provides.

Yes, I want my hard-earned savings to go to people whose causes are important to me, and not to distant relatives who are too financially secure to benefit from inheriting part of my wealth. Preparing a will or trust gives you one last chance to make a difference for others. Personally I’d like to make it my last act.

What is your opinion?

I’m glad I have a legal will

Dear Glad,

Your story is amazing, and it doesn’t seem all that uncommon.

A trusts and estates lawyer told me that he prepared a will for a very wealthy person, showed it to her when she visited his office, and kept it in his place. He was pleased with all the time they had invested together and was happy to finally distribute his wealth in a fair and equitable way that reflected his wishes, charitable interests, and relationships with his closest friends. And relatives. There was just one problem. It was still in a sealed envelope where he believed it was safe. “You didn’t sign,” she said, pointing out the obvious and easy mistake. If a man with millions of dollars could make such a mistake, who is to say that others have forgotten the importance of John Hancock?

It is true that the legal framework for determining whether a will is valid varies from state to state. For example, in New Jersey, according to Bratton Estate & Elder Care Attorneys, “A will must be signed by the deceased or by someone authorized to sign on behalf of the person making the will.” “The will must be signed by at least two different witnesses. For these witnesses’ signatures to be valid, the signer must add their signature to the document as soon as possible. New Jersey accepts handwritten wills, with or without witnesses. However, it must be clear that the document was intended to create a will for the deceased. Additionally, the document must be clearly identifiable as being written in the deceased’s handwriting.”

Believe it or not, some people still like to write their wills by hand, but holographic or handwritten wills are only legal in about half of the United States, including California. Always prepare your will, whether written or typewritten, under the guidance of a trust and estate attorney. WARNING: It is not worth writing a will on the cheap or downloading it from the Internet. So many things can go wrong. Sometimes people leave behind possessions that no longer exist. (That Rolls-Royce? He sold it to pay taxes on the house.) Or they leave the entire estate to one lucky cousin, and then five more show up and demand their share. (“I leave my entire estate to my cousin, John Murphy.” Do you have more than one cousin named John Murphy? Or, worse, they don’t mention that person’s name outright?)

Online wills are often free or inexpensive, but the language may be inappropriate. Words matter. “If a will specifies that property should pass to a man’s ‘surviving wife and children,’ what happens if the man has two ex-wives and multiple children from other marriages?” asks law firms Landskin and Ricaforte. “On the other hand, suppose he had three daughters and left ‘equal shares of the property to my descendants.’ The will was written when his children were teenagers, but two of them died and had children. The term ‘descendants’ includes children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, so his children and grandchildren would receive one-fifth of the estate, even though he intended to give one-third to each daughter.”

It may also be appropriate to overturn the terms of the will. For example, a will or trust may be contested, generally on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence by family members, or improper execution. This is exactly what happened with my distant cousin’s will. If he had signed his will, his assets would have been distributed according to his wishes and you would probably be in a more comfortable financial situation. I have received too many letters about relatives, “new friends” or even caregivers who are isolating older people, listing themselves as co-signers or joint owners on bank accounts and forcing the person to write a new will.

The biggest mistake many people make is not writing a will and leaving no estate plan at all. According to a 2021 survey by Gallup, less than half of Americans have written a will, but three-quarters of people ages 65 and older have done so. Only 20% of adults under 30 have a will. “Higher-income Americans are much more likely to report having a will than lower-income Americans,” Gallup said. College graduates and white Americans are also more likely to have a will. After a lifetime of building wealth, whether it’s $500,000 or $5 million, it’s a shame to leave it up to state law to decide how it’s distributed.

If you have any financial or ethical questions, you can email The Moneyist at qfottrell@marketwatch.com and you can follow Quentin Fottrell on X, a platform previously known as Twitter.

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