Misspelled name on a will?

[emac0408]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Georgia

Hello everyone,
I recently helped a friend create a will for her entire estate (located in Georgia). She has been estranged from her husband for almost 20 years and left the estate to me. In the will, I misspelled her husband's first name: "Lewis" instead of the correct "Louis." She has no previous marriages and no children. Is this misspelling a serious complication? Will he have grounds to contest the will? She hasn't seen or heard from him since he left her, and she really doesn't know where he is or what he's doing.

Thank you for any advice you can give me.

 

[curb1]

Why doesn't this "friend" change the spelling of the name in the will? How much "help" did you give this friend?

 

[anteater]

The misspelling is probably not a problem if it is otherwise clear who is being referred to.

I would worry more about your fingerprints being all over a will in which you are the sole beneficiary.

Having an attorney prepare a will should only cost a couple hundred bucks.

 

[emac0408]

We used legalzoom to prepare the will, and she wasn't paying close enough attention while I was filling in the information as she gave it to me. She was unsure about how to make a will and use the website. That's why she wanted my help. She's only 56 and in good health, but she just wanted to have a will for peace of mind. The reason I'm the beneficiary is that she is basically estranged from her entire family. She left her extremely valuable sewing machines to her sisters, so I'm not really the sole beneficiary. Her family has treated her less than poorly her entire life, and she didn't want them to benefit from her death. She has a very modest "estate." It will probably be worth $100,000 or less upon her death. I feel awkward about the situation, but it's what she wants. I'm her closest friend, the only person she trusts, and I'm only 25.

 

[TrustUser]

i agree with ant,

it is gonna look suspicious if it can be proven that you, a non-relative only beneficiary, helped with the will in any way.

i dont know what sorts of assets make up her estate. but bank and brokerage accounts can place you as a beneficiary, and therefore bypass the will.

a house could be placed in trust, and once again bypass the will.

personally, i dont like wills all that much. but especially when the beneficiary is not blood related. the chance that the will may be challenged is high. the chance of success is probably much higher than an average challenge to a will.

 

[emac0408]

I feel the same way that you are advising. I'm uncomfortable with the situation, and I would rather not be in it. Her income is far too modest to afford an attorney to prepare a will. Her only assets are a house she has about $70-80k worth of equity in, 2 cars worth under $4k a piece, and tools. I really don't know how I'm going to handle this.

 

[Proserpina]

..and they're still married.

Hence Mr Husband could easily make things far more complicated.

 

[TrustUser]

most of her value is in her home. how is it titled ? the husband's name may still be on title ?

 

[emac0408]

Her husband has nothing to do with the home or anything else she owns. His name is on nothing but the marriage license. He doesn't even know where she is and vice versa. All he knows is she lives on the East Coast, and all she knows is that he lives on the West Coast somewhere. She came home one day 20 years ago, and he was gone. They haven't spoken since.