Where Is Your Original Will?

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Bryan Howard

I recently met with a couple for whom I prepared Wills in 2006. They want to make a change to their Will because a member of their family died unexpectedly. When they went to their lockbox, they were unable to find their original Wills. Fortunately, they still have the ability to sign new Wills.

What would have happened if one of my clients had died and the survivor was unable to find the Will? It is likely that we could have probated a copy of the Will. Tennessee law allows a Court to probate a copy of the Will when there is credible testimony that the Will has been lost and that there was no intention to revoke the Will. I have successfully probated copies of Wills on 6 or 7 occasions. Every time that I have probated a copy, no one objected and a close family member was able to give credible testimony about the Will being lost.

You should assume that your heirs will be unsuccessful in probating a copy of your Will. When the original Will cannot be found, there is a strong presumption under Tennessee law that the Will was revoked. There have been numerous cases where the Court refused to probate a copy of a Will. If the Court refuses to probate the copy, the Court will choose an administrator to manage your estate and distribute your assets according to the intestate succession laws of Tennessee.

Due to the problems caused when your original Will cannot be located, it is very important that you keep your original Will in a lockbox or other safe location. You also need to make sure that one or more trustworthy persons knows the location of your original Will.

Revocable trusts do not have the same problem. The Trustee does not have to produce the original Trust Agreement in order to carry out its duties. This is another potential benefit of a revocable trust.
 

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Children Born Out of Wedlock Must Act Quickly to Preserve Inheritance Rights

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Bryan Howard

I recently read that 43% of the 91,000 babies born in Tennessee in 2008 were born out of wedlock. Babies with unwed parents are now so common that the social stigma from yesteryear has largely disappeared.  Nevertheless, there are still circumstances where the law discriminates against children born out of wedlock.

When someone dies without a Will, the state of Tennessee decides who will inherit the person’s estate. The laws governing this process are known as "Intestate Succession." When the decedent has no surviving spouse or descendants, the property is distributed to the decedent’s parents or descendants of the parents if they are deceased, i.e., brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews. If the parents are deceased and have no then living descendants, then the property is distributed to descendants of the decedent’s grandparents (i.e. aunts, uncles, first cousins, second cousins, third cousins). Children born out of wedlock frequently claim to be a member of the class who inherits from an intestate decedent.

The Cleo Snapp case is the most recent of several Tennessee cases that have treated children born out of wedlock as creditors of the estate. Tennessee law requires creditors to file a claim against the estate within 1 year of the decedent's death if they want to receive a share of the estate. Furthermore, if the executor notifies the creditor that they need to file a claim, they have only 4 months after receiving the notification. If the creditor does not file a timely claim, they forfeit their share of the estate.

The problem presents itself when inheritance rights flow through the potential inheritor's father. There is no requirement for filing a claim when your “blood” relationship to the decedent is through your mother.

When a potential inheritor files a timely claim, he or she must still prove the identity of their father by clear and convincing evidence.

The paternity issue most often arises when there is not a Will, but can also arise when there is a Will which does not clearly specify who inherits the decedent's estate.

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