I’m attorney Reed Bloodworth,
managing partner of Bloodworth Law, with offices in Orlando and Winter Haven, Florida.
At Bloodworth Law, our team handles estate planning services for clients across Florida
and can work with you remotely, via video conference, or in the office with the
appropriate safety measures taken to protect you as we help you with your legal needs.
For this video, let’s discuss What Makes a Will Legal in Florida?
A will distributes a person's assets in the way that they want, to the people they want
to give things to, and in the manner in which they want to distribute those things.
A will can nominate guardians if there are minor children so that the parents do not
have to worry about what will happen to their children after they pass.
If there is no will, but there is even one asset, the state of Florida has to
step in to create a will for you. This is called the intestate statute.
The intestate statute provides a breakdown similar to a flow chart of who gets what,
instead of you deciding who receives what. You may have a child you don't want to receive
any inheritance because they have substance abuse issues, or you may be estranged from a child.
If you do not have a will, and you have children, and you don't have a spouse,
then your assets will go to your children. For a will to be valid, it must comply with
Florida law. Florida law requires that a will: 1. has to be created by a person who is at
least 18 years old; 2. has to be written;
3. has to be signed by the testator, the creator of the will; and
4. has to be signed in the presence of two witnesses.
Additionally, it should be signed by all parties in front of a notary
If a will is not signed by the testator and the two witnesses in front of a notary,
then the Will has to be proven in court -- meaning you have to find those two witnesses and they have
to sign an affidavit after a death verifying they witnessed the testator sign the will.
At Bloodworth Law, we always attach a self-proving affidavit to a will
that has the testator signing again, the witnesses signing again,
and the notary signing, so everyone is signing in the presence of each other, swearing and
affirming that they're all witnessing each other sign this legal document at one time.
This is important for a number of reasons. For example, in many instances, witnesses die,
or they move. Sometimes you cannot find both of the witnesses. Sometimes a witness may not
remember signing the will, or when you find the two witnesses, one of them has dementia.
You may feel confident that the will you created is legal,
but if you are a resident of another state who moved to Florida, you may have problems.
If you created a will by yourself with no legal advice from a Florida estate planning attorney,
the will may not comply with Florida law and it may be invalid.
You may have created your will while you had fewer assets, or,
you may have been estranged from a spouse. There are many reasons why you should not create a will
without an attorney because the entire point of creating and updating a will is to put
everything in writing, have it witnessed, and notarized.
Creating a will and estate planning is not a do-it-yourself project. If you’re over 18, you
should have your estate planning completed, and your legal documents reviewed by an attorney.
Again, I’m Reed Bloodworth, the managing partner of Bloodworth Law.
Give me a call; let’s talk about how Bloodworth Law can help you and your family.