Four Functions of Will Formalities, Such as Witnesses
By : Cory Hicks | Category : Estate Planning, Probate | No Comments
23rd Apr 2020
In this broader series on handwritten or holographic wills, we have been looking at the narrower issue of witnesses in recent posts.
The last post looked at an overview of why witnesses are used in conventional wills. The summary was: identification, and to prevent bad or tricky things.
I recently read some material from the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. They had a list of Four Functions Served by Will Formalities – which they had pulled from various academic sources. (Formalities means the rules for getting wills made and validly signed – including the witness requirement). I thought they were helpful to this discussion. So, I list them below, with some brief comments and explanation.
Evidentiary Function. The rules about how wills get made and signed, ensure there is a long-lasting and sure statement of exactly what the person making the will wanted.
Channeling Function. The rules about how wills get made and signed, help put the maker’s intent into a form that personal representative, courts, and others can understand and follow, without lots of questions about meaning or ambiguities, which can lead to confusion, disagreements, or lawsuits.
Ritual or Cautionary Function. The rules about how wills get made and signed, make sure the maker is serious about the process and understands the document is final and legally binding, and not just a draft or informal document.
Protective Function. The rules about how wills get made and signed, help make sure there are not serious problems in the process or end result – such as incapacity of the maker, forgery, perjury, undue influence, fraud, delusion, coercion – generally the bad or tricky things outlined in the prior post.
Archived Posts
- July 2024
- January 2024
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- August 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- November 2014
- August 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- August 2013
- May 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.