Even though many of the intricacies of law may seem like a mere formality they are necessary if a person wants their will to be properly executed. In Price v. Abate, Fran Price petitioned for the administration of the lost will of Thomas Flanigan, which was known to exist as of January 2005, but had not been found at the time of the case. The Fifth District Court of Appeals found that the will was not properly executed and, so, for the purposes of probate, Flanigan died intestate (without a will).

It is an “essential prerequisite” when petitioning for the probate of a lost will to show that the will was executed pursuant to section 733.502 of the Florida Statutes. One of the things that the statute provides to establish the validity of a will is that the testator, in the presence of witnesses, must sign the will. The witnesses must also sign the will attesting to that effect in each other’s presence.

Testimony in the case indicated that the testator, Flanigan, signed the will and then gave it to a notary who signed the document. The notary called over a bank teller, after she signed it, to sign the document as a witness. Due to the fact that the testator, the notary, and the bank teller were not in the presence of one another when they signed the document, the court determined that the will was not properly executed and that it could not be used to distribute the assets of Flanigan’s estate.

The Catch... What you need to know is that there are no short cuts when writing a will. Every step must be taken, and taken properly, in order for the will to be effective after that person is gone.

Price v. Abate, 2009 WL 559908 (Fla.App. 5 Dist.)