Lost wills - Are they still valid?

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If a person was mentally competent at the time a will was made and then loses it, is the will still good?

Yes. The relevant question for a Will’s validity is whether the person was competent at the time the Will was made and executed (signed before witnesses). If the person was competent at that time, the Will is valid. The whole point of making a Will while you’re healthy is to make sure the Will is valid if you later become incapacitated. A problem might arise in this situation if the person making the Will was competent when the Will was made, but later became legally incompetent, and then wanted to change the Will. In that case, the changes to the Will wouldn’t be accepted by the probate court if there is evidence that the person was incompetent at the time the changes were made. The original Will would still be valid.

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» New York Wills	» California Wills
» Wills Basic	» Types of Wills
» Changing/Revoking Your Will	» Will Administrator, Executor and Guardian
» Competency/Will Challenges	» Lost Wills/No Wills
» Will Decisions	» Do It Yourself Wills Online Services/Software
» Wills Attorneys/Legal Help	» Texas Wills

Topics Related To Wills
» Estate Planning	» Asset Protection	» Elder Law
» Probate	» Trusts	» Wills
» Living Wills / Power of Attorney

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