The Best-Laid Plans...

I met with a nice older lady recently who really just wanted a power of attorney prepared.  As we discussed the various kinds of POA, she asked whether I would mind taking a look at the wills she and her husband had had prepared years earlier, before he developed Alzheimer’s Disease and before two of their four children had passed away.

As I reviewed the wills, they seemed well-drafted and had obviously been prepared in a lawyer’s office.  As I turned to the signature pages at the end, however, my heart skipped a beat: although she and her husband had signed their respective wills and a notary had witnessed their signatures, the lines where the required two witnesses should have signed and the lines for their names were blank!  She and her husband thought they had executed valid wills, and the wills stated their wishes properl; however, the wills were executed incorrectly, meaning that if either of them had died, that person would have died intestate (without a will). To make matters worse, her husband was now incompetent and unable to execute a new will, and since two of his children have since died, leaving children of their own, his estate would pass much differently than he had indicated in his will.

Fortunately, we will be able to adjust the client’s new will to largely overcome the problems her husband dying without a will would have caused; however, had she not asked me to review the wills, it’s likely neither of their estates would have passed the way they intended.  Potential legal malpractice by her previous attorney aside, the moral of this story is to review your estate planning documents regularly.  Usually, that’s just to make sure they’re current; however, in this case, the review prevented a big mistake from having dire consequences.

As always, the above is legal information, not legal advice, and it’s based on Texas law because I’m a Texas lawyer.  Each person’s facts are different, so be sure to talk with an experienced estate planning lawyer if you have questions about what’s best for you and your family.

The picture’s just a cool sunset from a recent trip to Yellowstone. Enjoy!