Witness’ for a Will

[tams]

I made a will through an online resource, printed it out and have it ready to do. The problem is, I don't know how to ask anyone close to me to witness it without arousing suspicion. Maybe I am overthinking it cause I know a will is a necessary thing regardless of how long you plan to live. Any thoughts or suggestions about how to go about this? Thank you.

 

[GasMonkey]

I did it at a notary 2 years ago, no witness needed.

 

[6MillionWaystoDie]

I did it at a notary 2 years ago, no witness needed.

The rules vary by state / location. You can get anyone to be your witness. For example if you go to a notary, you can have another employee of that agency be the witness. There is no requirement that you know the person or even be familiar with the individual. Just call the notary and ask if someone else there would be willing to act as a witness and sign the doc.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

The rules vary by state / location. You can get anyone to be your witness. For example if you go to a notary, you can have another employee of that agency be the witness. There is no requirement that you know the person or even be familiar with the individual. Just call the notary and ask if someone else there would be willing to act as a witness and sign the doc.

Going to a notary is easy .but how do you register it with someone or like a state in the U.S. so that when I die no one can steal anything I leave. I don't want to tell anyone like a family member to hold it for example . I tried that and the family member became suspiscious I was going to ctb. Luckily i was able to change the subject or else I fear getting reported to the police and then sent to a mental institution

 

[6MillionWaystoDie]

For some states its a requirement to file a will with the court, for others its not.

If you are worried about stealing etc., you can have the original filed with the courts. Just make sure you understand the rules of your state because in some states once you file the doc, you have to go through a lengthy and costly process to change the doc such as creating a codicil.

As always once the law becomes involved, things become both onerous and costly so I'd check the rules for your location and then think long and hard about whether its worth the trouble.



There are other simpler things you can do for your monies like completing a transfer on death with your bank & holding institutions. However for physical items you are stuck with having a human certify to the courts that they did the correct things per your will. Of course the person is subject to the rules of the court, and perjury is still a punishable crime.

Honestly though, my recommendation would be to keep the law out of your business if you're fortunate enough to have a trustworthy person act as your executor. If you don't have a trustworthy executor the court can appoint anyone unless you explicitly state certain people are disallowed. Be mindful that whomever does the job has a right to be compensated from your estate.


Do consider that making sure your "old blue couch" winds up in a specific place may not be worth the trouble.

 

[tams]

I did it at a notary 2 years ago, no witness needed.

Here it is required to have two witnesses. You can go to a notary with one of your witnesses after to sign an affidavit so when you are gone, they don't have to track down the witnesses to make sure it was legit. Basically if I don't get it signed, my understanding is that my assets would go into probate which could be costly in legal fees. Just don't wanna eat up anymore money than I have to. I was actually thinking of just finding a few homeless people and paying them them to sign it haha. Still not sure what I am gonna do.

Going to a notary is easy .but how do you register it with someone or like a state in the U.S. so that when I die no one can steal anything I leave. I don't want to tell anyone like a family member to hold it for example . I tried that and the family member became suspiscious I was going to ctb. Luckily i was able to change the subject or else I fear getting reported to the police and then sent to a mental institution

The website I did my will with offered a code where you can register your will with the will registry for where I live.

 

[6MillionWaystoDie]

When I had mine done I was at a large business office with multiple tenants. The general receptionist(s) for the building bared witness. I think the notary recorded the persons' ID verbally for verification. I would have no idea how to track a witness if they no longer worked there.

I don't think its a big deal. Just find a notary in a busy office. I believe its just a technicality to validate its you for the notary process since the notary is not supposed to be a witness too. Its probably more simple than you realize.

 

[TDF]

@tams, not sure if you already found a solution to your problem, sorry to dig up an old thread, just saw this thought I would answer because I had the same problem.

Note if your state requires 2 witnesses then that's what's required, it's not a technicality, the will would not be valid if there's no 2 witness signature. In some states the notary can be one of the witnesses.

Alot of notaries offices knows this and they will offer witnesses if you book them in advance. Find a place that specially do notary, and ask them if they provide witness service. I found one in my state that provides witnesses for 50 bucks each, and you just book a day in advance and they will have it sorted for you. In some states notary requires an extra piece of paper just make sure you ask the notary. All up it cost me about 100$, it's not free but I know it's hard to find a witness when you want to ctb. I also doubt it will cost this much in other states. Good luck.

 

[tams]

@tams, not sure if you already found a solution to your problem, sorry to dig up an old thread, just saw this thought I would answer because I had the same problem.

Note if your state requires 2 witnesses then that's what's required, it's not a technicality, the will would not be valid if there's no 2 witness signature. In some states the notary can be one of the witnesses.

Alot of notaries offices knows this and they will offer witnesses if you book them in advance. Find a place that specially do notary, and ask them if they provide witness service. I found one in my state that provides witnesses for 50 bucks each, and you just book a day in advance and they will have it sorted for you. In some states notary requires an extra piece of paper just make sure you ask the notary. All up it cost me about 100$, it's not free but I know it's hard to find a witness when you want to ctb. I also doubt it will cost this much in other states. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. I did figure it out a few months ago. Emailed various lawyers offices and found one that will do it. $60 for something that was stressing me out so much, glad that part is in place.