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moonlite · May 22, 2009, 09:55 AM

A person I helped all my life wants to arrange his Last Will and Testament. But there are a few issues: this person has some assets coming to him. We don't know exactly how much or when it will be registered to his name, but it is coming. Will a general statement in his Will cover those assets, which will be credited to him but after he prepares the Will ? Can he say, for example :" I want all funds in my bank accounts, cash found in my house, valuables stored in safe deposit boxes....etc at the time of my death be distributed as follows... ? Will this statement be enough regardless of when he received those funds or valuables ? Also, can his Will contain a phrase of some kind to make it lasting so that if somebody else forces him to change it in the future, the "new" Will would be considered null and void ? I can't tell you how much the good people on this forum are helping me sort things out because of their knowledge and kindness. You are saving me lots of money in consultation fees and you're saving me time. Thank you so much !

ScottGem · May 22, 2009, 10:35 AM

First, except for some specific bequests of cash or property (I want dear Aunt Dorothy to get my China set or my ne'er-do-well nephew gets $1000 in cash), a will generally specifes a general distribution of the valoue of assets. Someone making up a Last Will and Testament will generally have no idea what their estate will look like when they die. So they have to be general.

As far as forcing someone to change their Will, as long as the person is competent they can change their will daily if they want. If a beneficiary of an older will feels undue influence was used (and they can prove it) to get the will changed they can contest the new will. However, many people, will add clauses to their will stating that if anyone tries to contest the will and fails, they will lose their bequests.

And we go back to an answer I gave to an earlier question. If you are or expect to be a beneficiary of a Will, you should have NOTHING to do with its creation. This is a surefire way to give a different benenficiary grounds for contesting.

You should let the person go to an attorney on their own (and of their choosing) to have the will drawn up.

moonlite · May 22, 2009, 04:50 PM

The problem is that this person is to the point where he can not drive at all. However, he can speak just fine. So you are saying even if I drive him to a lawyer's office is grounds to contest ? Any competent lawyer can tell if this person is being forced to do anything, even if I am with him. Thanks.

ScottGem · May 22, 2009, 04:54 PM

Yes that's what I'm saying! The influence could occur on the trip to the lawyer. Just the act of taking him to an attorney could be considered an act of influence.

Let him call a taxi, or see if the attorney will come to him. But you NEED to be hands off at anything to do with this will.