A will is a legal document that tells a probate court how a deceased person’s property should be distributed and, perhaps, how other affairs — such as the custody of minor children — should be handled.
The probate court always attempts to honor the wishes of the deceased person, so a will doesn’t have to be very formal in order to be accepted by the court.
In fact, handwritten wills can be considered valid in many states, including Minnesota. However, there are still formalities that handwritten wills — also known as holographic wills — must meet under Minnesota probate law, including:
- The person creating the will must be at least 18 years old.
- The person creating the will must be of sound mind and understand what he or she is doing.
- The will must be signed by its creator. (If the creator of the will cannot sign, someone else may do it in his or her conscious presence.)
- The signing of the will must be witnessed by at least two people who meet the requirements for witnesses under state probate law.
In Minnesota, two witnesses must sign the will after 1) seeing the creator of the will sign it, or 2) seeing the creator of the will acknowledge that he or she signed it. Getting a will notarized is not enough to make it valid — two valid witness signatures are necessary.
The legal requires of a will vary from state to state, and there are many states that do not require that two witnesses sign a will in order for it to be valid. Minnesota probate courts can accept a will that was created in another state and followed the will requirements of that state at that time.
Will contests are common and result when interested parties challenge a will, usually alleging that it was created under fraud or duress. Other common reasons wills can be challenged include ambiguity, improper drafting or execution, and insufficient mental capacity.