Lawyers

  There are ways to show that the Will is the actual instrument that a deceased person made when the personal representative and estate planning attorney initially submit the document to the court. The process of submitting a Will to the court is called “probate”. Many states define testamentary writings as the actual document, other testamentary instruments, and codicils. Codicils are written changes made to the Will later in time. In the initial meeting with a personal representative, the retirement planning lawyer must determine if the Will or other estate planning documents exists. This is because, courts require that the original instruments be submitted to it before it can commence estate administration proceedings. Newspapers will often contain advertisements from lawyers or personal representatives seeking information on the location of a Will because it cannot be found. If the document is located, it should then be submitted to the Court along with a “Peti...