(Wills) Father states in will, "has no children." But this is false info. How is this legal?

[InfoTime]

InfoTime, do you know if your father was of sound mind in 2012, when the will apparently was drafted? Was an attorney involved in the drafting of the will? Do you know if your father’s girlfriend assisted in any way with the drafting of the will?

Apparently the Probate Court was aware of your existence and that you were your father’s child, which is why you were contacted.

While it is not unheard of for a parent to leave their child(ren) out of their will, you mentioned that you and your father were on good terms. You might want to speak to and have the will personally reviewed in its entirety by an attorney in your area. Something seems off here to me.

He was of sound mind when the will was drafted and was mentally fine (he died suddenly, at 66, from a physical head injury).

The will itself is very basic, barely one page - I highly doubt he had an attorney (my father was one to do things on his own and in the cheapest possible way).

I do suspect that the girlfriend assisted in the drafting. He appoints her as executrix of the estate. And the will states "If she should not survive me, then I give all my estate to (name of her eldest son)" (I'll admit -- that hurt).

(Some background info here -- by 2012 (the time this will was drafted) he and the girlfriend had lived together for at least 7+ years. She had actually moved into his house (fairly quickly) and helped him financially around house payments. She was certainly not paying the whole thing, but they combined their incomes around the house as a married couple would do. And I can completely understand why he'd want her to take possession of the estate).

I figured she (the girlfriend) provided the Probate Court with my address since it's doubtful that the Court had any first-hand info on my existence.

Something about him not naming any child just seems odd. Maybe he himself thought it meant minors? I really am at a loss here.

 

[quincy]

He was of sound mind when the will was drafted and was mentally fine (he died suddenly, at 66, from a physical head injury).

The will itself is very basic, barely one page - I highly doubt he had an attorney (my father was one to do things on his own and in the cheapest possible way).

I do suspect that the girlfriend assisted in the drafting. He appoints her as executrix of the estate. And the will states "If she should be unable to serve, then I nominate and appoint (name of her eldest son) as her successor." (I'll admit -- that kinda hurt).

(Some background info here -- by 2012 (the time this will was drafted) he and the girlfriend had lived together for at least 7+ years. She had actually moved into his house (fairly quickly) and helped him financially around house payments. She was certainly not paying the whole thing, but they combined their incomes around the house as a married couple would do. And I can completely understand why he'd want her to take possession of the estate).

I figured she (the girlfriend) provided the Probate Court with my address since it's doubtful that the Court had any first-hand info on my existence.

Something about him not naming any child just seems odd. Maybe he himself thought it meant minors? I really am at a loss here.

It is possible he equated “child” with “minor child.” It is obviously not an uncommon mistake.

 

[InfoTime]

It is possible he equated “child” with “minor child.” It is obviously not an uncommon mistake.

That seems like the most likely reason. Thank you for your feedback

 

[Taxing Matters]

Wills in Maine are not required to be notarized. The testators signature must be attested to by two witnesses. Using someone who is impartial (like a notary) cuts down on a lot of subsequent argument though.

The purpose of the notary is to attest that that the persons signing the will (the testator and the witnesses) are who they say they are, which can be useful in rebutting challenges to the execution of the will.

 

[quincy]

That's hardly surprising because there is no such thing as "disinheriting"...

By the way, what I have quoted above is incorrect. The legal definition of “disinheritance,” from Black’s Law Dictionary, is “the act by which the owner of an estate deprives a person, who would otherwise be his heir, of the right to inherit it.”

Maine’s Probate Code refers to disinherit, disinherited and disinheritance.

I still think you would be smart to have your will personally reviewed by an attorney in your area, mostly because your father’s will contains that odd (although perhaps excusable) error about having no children. In addition, there were several changes to Maine’s Probate Code that went into effect in September of last year, some on inheritances and some that potentially could apply to you.

 

[FlyingRon]

The purpose of the notary is to attest that that the persons signing the will (the testator and the witnesses) are who they say they are, which can be useful in rebutting challenges to the execution of the will.

Correct, but I suspect in this case the two notaries were in fact, doubling as the witnesses. Notaries can't self certify themselves. But they make pretty compelling witnesses to the testator (which is what is needed to prove the will), provided they have no relationship to the parties.

 

[Taxing Matters]

Correct, but I suspect in this case the two notaries were in fact, doubling as the witnesses. Notaries can't self certify themselves. But they make pretty compelling witnesses to the testator (which is what is needed to prove the will), provided they have no relationship to the parties.

I don't know the rules for the OP's state, but in my state a notary cannot also be a witness/party to a document he or she is notarizing. So in my state if there are not two witnesses to the will but there is, for example, one witness to the will and then the notary, the court will treat the notary as as a witness but then the notarization is no good. If the OP's state follows a similar rule then the notaries would qualify as witnesses but then their notarization would be invalid. That wouldn't be ideal, but at least the will would not fail for lack of proper execution.

 

[FlyingRon]

I do know the rules for the poster's state of MAINE. To prove the will requires TWO WITNESSES. There's no exception other than holographic wills, or in some cases wills that are partially holographic when supported by other evidence. Notaries (or other "officers") can make the will self-proving but are not specifically required.

The law specifically states that "interested witnesses" being used do not invalidate any part of the will. Still, as I pointed out (and I think you made this point as well) using witnesses that are not "interested" will potentially head off disputes as to the validity of the witnessing.

 

[TrustUser]

i agree with quincy - something does not seem right

what parent doesnt consider their children, their children (no matter what their ages) ?

if the father and son were on good terms, why werent his and her children considered at least equally ?

i suspect one of these 2 - the son and father were not on good terms, or the girlfriend had undue influence on the will

 

[Zigner]

... or the girlfriend had undue influence on the will

Whoa there - absent some other factors, having your GF in your ear for several years until you finally cave and change your will (trust...whatever) is influence, but not necessarily undue influence. There has to be more to it than just a nagging GF. This applies to a spouse as well.

 

[quincy]

Whoa there - absent some other factors, having your GF in your ear for several years until you finally cave and change your will (trust...whatever) is influence, but not necessarily undue influence. There has to be more to it than just a nagging GF. This applies to a spouse as well.

It is that one statement made by the father in his will that continues to gnaw at me.

It could be simply his misunderstanding of what a “child” is - but that goes against every parent I have ever met who continues to call their children their children/their child/their kids.

I think the will (and the way it was drafted) should be personally reviewed by an attorney.

 

[TrustUser]

i have never heard of someone not thinking their children are their children because they are over some age limit

i stand by my statement

i suspect one of these 2 - the son and father were not on good terms, or the girlfriend had undue influence on the will

 

[quincy]

i have never heard of someone not thinking their children are their children because they are over some age limit

i stand by my statement

i suspect one of these 2 - the son and father were not on good terms, or the girlfriend had undue influence on the will

I tend to agree.

 

[Zigner]

i have never heard of someone not thinking their children are their children because they are over some age limit

i stand by my statement

i suspect one of these 2 - the son and father were not on good terms, or the girlfriend had undue influence on the will

I will give you that the GF DEFINITELY had influence on the will...that is obvious. There has been NOTHING presented here to suggest that anyone had any undue influence on the matter.

 

[quincy]

I will give you that the GF DEFINITELY had influence on the will...that is obvious. There has been NOTHING presented here to suggest that anyone had any undue influence on the matter.

Yes. But there is nothing to suggest there wasn’t - other than the father saying he was single and had no children, and leaving everything to his girlfriend.