Too many people – even elderly ones – never get around to creating a will (let alone any other estate plan documents) before they die. That means most of their assets will end up being distributed among family members based on their familial relationship – regardless of how close they were (or weren’t) and what their wishes may have been.
If you find a will after a loved one passes away that they never mentioned, it can be a relief. It’s not uncommon, however, to end up finding multiple wills in a loved one’s home after they’re gone. It can be confusing to determine which one they intended to be the final one or when changes were made.
Some of the documents may not have dates. Further, there may be sections crossed out with notes handwritten in the margins or even Post-it notes on them. It can be hard to know which ones are even legally valid.
Finding multiple wills can create a lot of conflict within a family – especially if a loved one seems to have changed provisions to benefit one family member over others. They have even added a new beneficiary like a caregiver or new “friend” whom the family barely knows – or changed their designated executor to someone outside the family.
A court needs to be involved
If multiple wills are located, it’s crucial not to destroy any of them. If there’s an estate planning professional’s name on them, you can seek clarification from them. However, your loved one may have “gone rogue” and made some changes on their own after the original will was created.
You need to submit all wills that you locate to a probate court to make the decisions around which one will be recognized. It may not be the one with the latest date if that one isn’t legally valid. Further, if changes were made when a loved one no longer had testamentary capacity, those changes likely wouldn’t be recognized. However, you would need to present some evidence that they lacked the testamentary capacity to amend their will.
Every situation with multiple wills is unique. That’s why it’s important to handle it in the right way and turn it over to the court. You can then make your case for what you believe your loved one’s real intentions were. Having legal guidance as you do this can help.
