Simple Will changes

Simple Will changes
question

Mom's will might need to change. My name on my mom's will is my maiden name, does she need to change it to my married name? Home address for my brother has changed, does mom need to change her will for that? Final question. My mom wants to change alternate trustees. Can all this be done with a simple addendum to the will by any attorney? Or can i just type something and have it notoraized

answer

Don't mark or change anything on the will itself as that will likely invalidate the will (it could be constured as a revocation of the will in which case it might be as if your mom died intestate = without a wil). Many lawyers historically have used "codicils" or amendments to a will. Instead of signing a new will your mom would just sign a short document updating it. That is not always the best or most cost effective approach (but ask your lawyer). In the past when wills were typed on manual typewritters a codicil was a great technique. Now, however, it might be quicker and cheaper to simply update the last will, change the dates, reprint and sign it with appropriate formal lawyer supervision (otherwise it may not be valid --- signing a will is not one of those self help legal steps you should do without a lawyer to save a few dollars). Your name change may not be legally necessary as it sounds like its clearly you. The address for your brother might also not be critical since it is still clearly your brother who is the beneficiary. The address might be primarily a means of confirming who the beneficiary is. However, to change trustees (do you mean successor trustees who come after the first named trustee?) you need to revise the will (or if your lawyer tells you a codicil is preferable, then sign a codicil). Since you have to change the will to change successor trustees you should update your name and your brother's address. When your name is listed some lawyers will list your maiden names as a parenthetical (e.g., "a/k/a Jane Madien-name"). A final point. You asked which attorney to use. In most cases (unless you were dissatisfied) you're really best off if you mom goes back to the attorney who drafted the original will. He or she will have the electronic version of the prior will so an update will be easy. If a codicil is appropriate a new attorney may be uncomfortable preparing a codicil for a will done by another attorney unless the very carefully review it. All told, it should be much less time consuming and costly continuing with your mom's prior attorney.

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