Q: Daughter died in Florida, signed will with two friends but never got notarized; can it be used for the estate?

A: No, Florida requires signature, two witnesses and notarization, if this is not the case then it will not be a valid Will and the estate will be deemed Intestate and the Florida Intestate Statutes will apply to the probate. This means it will be important who survived your daughter and whether the property was Homestead or not. Florida Statute 732.101-732.109 addresses a Florida Intestate Estate and you can look it up online to see what it says and entails. A Florida Probate Attorney will be able to help you with additional details and specifics on what will need to be done with respect to the type of probate that may need to be pursued and other questions you may have or specifics of the estate and how they will be addressed.

A: Actually, notarization (or acknowledgment) is necessary for the will to be "self-proved", but there is another way to do it:

Florida Statute 732.503, entitled "Self-proof of will", provides as follows:

"(1) A will or codicil executed in conformity with s. 732.502 may be made self-proved at the time of its execution or at any subsequent date by the acknowledgment of it by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, made before an officer authorized to administer oaths and evidenced by the officer’s certificate attached to or following the will ... "

A: A will with two witnesses but without a notary is still valid in Florida. It should be filed with the clerk of court in the county where the decedent resided, and then when you are ready to open the estate, one of the witnesses will need to sign an oath before the clerk before the will can be admitted to probate as the official will.