How to Create A Valid Will In Florida
You hear a lot about wills these days, even on radio commercials saying that you can create a will yourself online. I have seen several online wills come through my office and a lot of them are not valid here in Florida. So how do you create a valid will in Florida?
First, the will must be in writing. A will cannot be oral. The person creating the will must be 18 years of age when they create the will. The person, when they sign the will, must have the mental capacity to do so. A rule of thumb regarding capacity is that if the person knows who they are, who their heirs are and what they have, they are competent to sign the will.
A valid will must also have 2 witnesses to it. Without a witness, a will is not valid in Florida. Finally, although it is not a legal requirement, a will should be notarized so that when it is probated, the witnesses do not need to come testify that the person did in fact sign the will in their presence. The notarized statement is called a self-proving affidavit. Again, this is not required but it does help.
To learn more about the validity of will, please contact our attorneys at Wood, Atter & Wolf, P.A. regarding your estate plan.
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