Cleveland, TN asked in Estate Planning for Tennessee

Q: My mother is bed ridden, has brain cancer, can we hand write her will or record it , like on a phone?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Nina Whitehurst
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Answered
  • Estate Planning Lawyer
  • Crossville, TN
  • Licensed in Tennessee

A: Your MOTHER can write out a will entirely in her own handwriting and sign and date it. If she is not able to do that, read more here about other options:

https://www.cumberlandlegacylaw.com/what-makes-a-will-valid

There is an art to drafting wills correctly, and most non-lawyers, because they don't spend their time day in and day out writing wills, are not well versed in the art. This is the province of estate planning attorneys (not generalists, but specialists). I have seen many wills that were well intended but clearly prepared by novices and that generated much consternation and litigation because of poor drafting.

I know that nobody likes to go to a website that offers free legal advice only to be told that you should hire an attorney, but the best answer to your inquiry is you should hire an attorney. It is not possible to give legal advice in this forum about how your mother should draft her particular will. The best an attorney can do is explain the requirements for a will to be valid, but the actual content of the will matters quite a bit as well. It can be all typed out nice and neat and be signed and dated and have two witnesses and all of that and still end up badly because of poor draftsmanship.

Anthony M. Avery agrees with this answer

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