Q: My father has an out of state will
My father has a will he created by Legal Zoom, when living in NY. He passed away while residing in NC. As I was named the executor, I met with the county clerks office to begin handling his affairs. I was told that NC requires the last 2 pages of the will (notary & witness pages) to be notarized. On my fathers will, the witness page is not notarized. I was told if I can find a print out from a website, but not wiki (their words), that says NY does not require the witness page to be notarized OR that only 1 of the 2 pages needs a notary then they will honor the will, otherwise it’s invalid. I have looked everywhere & can locate anything about notary requirements on last will and testaments. I’ve also had a friend who lives in NY talk to a notary. With no luck
I have 2 questions: 1-Are they for real? Can they do this? 2- What does NY estate law require & where can I get printable info on it?
Thank you
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A:
The is no requirement for a notary to be involved in a Will at all in New York. Estate Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) 3-2.1 requires the signature of the person signing the Will and two witnesses. None of those signatures need to be notarized.
Many times witnesses are asked to sign a self-proving affidavit which could be used if there were a challenge to the Will. That would need to be notarized to be effective. But it is not required.
It’s difficult to believe that a N.C. court would be unaware of NY’s law. In fact, many states don’t require notarization of signatures on Wills.
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