second mess

[vesta hill]

You might recognize my name Hi this is Vesta
a light came on when browzing thru. The lawyer I had also
prepared my will and I ammended it and my friend and I had it notarized. ( she sign and witness it) I did what you said not to do. I changed the will. added what I called a rider to it explaining what I wanted in my will. Is this legal and binding. If not I need to straighten this out as well. Thank you.

 

[dmode101]

It is definitely not valid unless it was properly witnessed by TWO persons. An amendment to a Will is called a "Codicil" and must be done very carefully. That aside, "explaining what you wanted" sounds like a very risky strategy. You either need a brand new Will or a properly drafted and executed Codicil.

I'm an estate planning attorney in Palatine (northwest Chicago burb). Feel free to contact me if you would like assistance with this. E-mail and phone info are at my website at http://www.illinoisestateplan.com

Regards,
Jeff