Why would handwriting make a document unbinding?

It's not that handwriting makes it unbinding, it's -- eh. As I understand it (not a lawyer), some states require wills to be done formally, with a lawyer, or a notary, or a legal form. In Virginia, a handwritten will is good enough. Whether this is true in other states, I don't know; it may be. My sister told me this when she was encouraging me to write a will, which I still haven't done.

So, I don't get it. If I handwrite a will with a lawyer and a notary, shouldn't it be just fine? What's the difference with Virginia? Are you saying they don't need a lawyer and a notary?

It sounds like it means I could write my will, sign it and date it, and put it in a drawer until I die, and it would hold up. Which is good to know, if you live in VA, and probably not true anymore in many other places.

Holographic wills are often not accepted because those documents don't follow any standards, like having witnesses.

msbelle, we have a Knight Costume--but it is Owen-sized.

We probably need to update our wills but my twin sister and her husband are the only ones that could possibly keep our kids without making them crazy. Then all the assets go into a trust. I'm glad my sister is a lawyer because she basically told us what we need to do.

Much kitty~ma, Plei.

Please, people with kids, make sure you have made arrangements for them (that do not involve direct inheritance)! And don't be afraid to think outside the box beyond relatives. Sometimes the best options are not blood ties.

The SO's brother put us as guardians for their two kids, but as one just turned eighteen and the other is fourteen, we're almost off the hook. My sister didn't, on the basis that we didn't already have kids so her much younger kids would join the clan her sister-in-law is raising, which I'm good with.

(eta: I foresee a lot of semicolon abuse in my future as the semicolon om my new phone is in the alt key that the comma was on my old phone. The comma now does not require an extra keypress which will be great once I figure that out.)

My sister didn't, on the basis that we didn't already have kids so her much younger kids would join the clan her sister-in-law is raising; which I'm good with.

I think my parents' intent was the opposite, actually, that we wouldn't have to wedge into another family. Was never an issue, thankfully.

I was listed as the backup parent for my sister's girls, but they're both over 18 now, so the question is thankfully moot. I don't know who my brothers have chosen for their kids.

ION, I sent an agreement to the Big Boss to be signed on June 29th. Today? Still no signature. AMAZING.