Will has no signature is it valid? Can I contest it?

Question

I just found out my deceesed brother left a 'statement of his wishes' for his estate leaving very little to me but a property to an ex girlfriend. He was single no children, our parents are dead and there is just me and three other siblings and I feel it is just us four who should benefit from the estate. Apparently there are no witness signitures on the document which he wrote himself. Does this make it invalid. Do you think I have a good case? Any advice please is very welcome.

Answer 1

You have an excellent case and I am sure you would win.

Answer 2

Legally, each state has requirements that must be met before a will is considered valid. A signature of the testator (the person writing the will) along with at least 2 witnesses is generally required for a will to be valid. You will need to check your state laws to be sure.

If your brother left no other, valid will, then it wall be the decision of the probate court in the county/state where your brother lived to determine who inherits. As you say your parents are dead, and your brother was single without any children, then under most state laws the estate will probably be equally divided up between his siblings.

However, although the law will probably lean toward you for the reasons noted above, your morals should make you think twice about whether you should pursue this.

The issue is not whether it is "right" for the ex-girfriend to get the estate, but what your brother wanted to happen to his estate. Although this has no legal value, it should have a moral value. Whatever you think, as you state your brother left very little to you on his "wish list," a decent brother would honor that if he believes his brother truly wanted that to be the way things are divided up.

Answer 3

Yes, you can contest it. Absent a valid will, an estate is distributed according to a hierachy established by state law. The ex girlfriend will have the burden of proving that the statement of wishes is a valid expression of your brother's estate in order to get around your state's law. If the document is typed, as oppossed to handwritten, the ex girlfriend will need to put on evidence that the document was actually prepared to and agreed by him. If it is handwritten, she will need a handwriting expert to show that it was actually written by him. There may be state law requiring a will be to attested to under oath before a notary. You could also put on evidence that your brother's wishes were contrary to what is set forth in the statement of wishes. Any decent lawyer should be able to help you with these issues.

Answer 4

if it isnt signed and witnessed then it isnt a valid will. the witness must not be a benaficiary and must supply an address

so its not a valid will

but if your brother left express wishes, then isnt that good enough for you? Isnt it his choice as to what should happen
do you feel you should override your brothers wishes for purely selfish reasons.

if there is no other will then technically speaking he's intestate, which probably means that any proceeds from his death will revert to either you and your siblings, or Grasping Gordy (in the Treasury) - get some legal advice (you should be able to get some free legal advice, especially if the parasite (sorry read lawyer) thinks there some fees to be billed in the future.

kind of reminds me of the age old adage
where there's a will there's a bunch of greedy grasping realtives, although to be fair there is no will in this case.......

Answer 5

The best way to get back your ex is https://tr.im/GDCSv

Here's the hard part: Pretend she never existed, like it was all a dream, don't call her, that will make you the smaller person, be the bigger person since you deserve better, what she did to you on Valentines Day was immature, especially after dating for four years. This person wasted allot of your time and through it out the window. Go out tonight, even it it is only yourself, don't drink and call or feel sorry for yourself, this will only cause you embarrassment! I know your hurting..This will eventually will go away in time. Today is not a good day for you and your emotions are spinning all over the place.

Please, whatever you do, don't answer her calls and don't call her. If she keeps calling, which she pro bally won't, don't return her call for 5 days. Make her sweat and DO Not get back together right away if you discuss this in 5 days. Tell her since she Broke up with you, you have done allot of thinking, and had the taste of "being single again" and you would like more time being "friends" for now, so you are sure you are making the right decision. Remember "She decided she didn't want to be with you" so the door is open for you to get out and see what you have been missing for four years. You honestly need to do this for yourself.

She doesn't know, but what she did was give you the best valentines day present you will ever get! A new start and a new beginning, use it to your advantage. You will look back on this and Thank God this happened now instead of 4 more wasted years of YOUR life. Today does suck, stay Strong and I promise you your life is going to be so much more exciting and you are going to be happy. If you continue to call and call her, she will think of you as needy and won't want you. She is going to rethink what she did to you today and will be hurt, if you act like you could care less. Girls always want the ones they can't have. That is who you are now to her. Let her suffer,realizing what a mistake she made. This will drive her crazy. Right now she is on cloud 9 thinking you will take her back, OH, is she stupid!

Your life isn't ruined, hers is..She lost someone special, and gave you a gift to let to live life and find someone you deserve. You are not getting back at her, your teaching her what an idiot she is and what she lost and what you gained without her. SO when You eventually talk to her, tell her thank you for what she did...
She will be hurt and you will be happy!

Answer 6

You need to consult a lawyer in the state in which your brother had his primary residence, to determine the possible validity of the document. Also, the ex-girlfriend won't get anything until the "will" goes through probate, which you may be able to contest. The best course of action is to consult a probate attorney.

Answer 7

See a lawyer. Probate law can vary from state to state, and country to country. If a person dies without a valid will, the state usually has laws that decide how the estate will be divided. And it can be a long, bumpy ride, so good luck!

Answer 8

I'd contest it!
Are you sure his EX didn't write it? Did your brother tell you about this? If not, question it.

In the UK, we need to sign a will AND get a witnesses signature on it too.

I doubt it is valid! Go and see a solicitor, you can usually get the 1st hour free!

Answer 9

This is a funny question when a lawyer For $100 would tell
in five minutes if you have a case or not...
I wonder how an EX got back in?

Answer 10

There are two types of wills in most states.

Formal wills, which must be signed and witnessed, and holographic wills which are written entirely in the handwriting of the person. While holographic wills must still be signed, most states do not require any witnesses.

Specific laws vary by state. If you want to challenge the will, you need to contact a licensed attorney.

Answer 11

You can contest it, possibly to have determined if the signature is really his. Also a hand-written will is often not considered entirely legal unless there are numberous legal conditions it meets, a lawyer should know what these are in your area.