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#Does a will have to be notarized in indiana driver#

The testator and both witnesses will be required to sign the will and affidavit before the notary.

#Does a will have to be notarized in indiana driver#

The testator and both witnesses must also bring valid identification with them to the notary, such as a passport or driver license, to prove to the notary that they are who they say they are before signing.

Neither one of these documents should be signed until all three parties are in the presence of the notary.

A testator and both witnesses must appear before the notary with the original version of the will and sworn statements.

In addition, if a state requires that a self-proving will be notarized, the following list provides some best practices to keep in mind when having the will and sworn statements notarized. If a person is not comfortable with drafting the affidavit themselves, then they should really hire a local attorney to do it both for legal reasons and to have peace of mind. The above declarations can be set out as separate clauses or combined in a long paragraph, so long as they adhere to all of the legal requirements.

A declaration made by the witness that the witness themself is at least 18 years of age and is eligible to sign as a valid witness.

A declaration made by the witness that the testator was at least the age of majority (usually 18 years old) and of sound mind when they created the will and.

A declaration made by the witness that the testator requested that they be one of the persons to bear witness to the testator signing the will, as well as one of the witnesses to sign the will for validation purposes.

A statement certifying that the testator voluntarily drafted their will and that they were not coerced or pressured by any other parties (including the witnesses themselves) to form the will.

A statement verifying that the testator told the witness that it was their will they were signing.

In general, the list of sworn statements contained in the affidavit (i.e., what the two witnesses must certify to when they sign) should include:

If a person is already aware that their state allows for and/or requires an affidavit to be attached to a self-proving will, then the following information may be useful. Ultimately, the best way to determine whether a self-proving will needs to be notarized or not would be to consult the advice of an attorney. No further affidavit is necessary to prove that a will is valid to the probate court. In other words, only the probate court can verify that the will is valid in these states an affidavit will not suffice.Īs for the other states that do not require an affidavit at all, such as California, Illinois, Indiana, Nevada, and Michigan, the will just must be signed by a testator and two witnesses. Accordingly, the executor of the estate will need to locate the witnesses who originally saw the testator sign the will and tell them to appear in front of the probate court after the testator dies. Some states do not require an affidavit to be notarized, whereas other states do not provide the option to attach an affidavit to a self-proving will at all.įor example, neither the District of Columbia nor the state of Ohio offer the option to attach an affidavit to a self-proving will. Should I Have My Self-Proving Will Notarized?Īs discussed above, the answer to whether a self-proving will needs to be notarized or not will depend on the laws of the state in which a testator resides. If a testator is not sure whether or not their state will accept an affidavit along with their self-proving will, then it would be in their best interest to contact a local estate attorney for further advice. In either category of states, the will is considered sufficient without an affidavit as long as two witnesses watched the testator sign the will and both witnesses signed the will after the testator did. Other states do not allow the testator to attach an affidavit to their will at all. Some states, however, do not require the affidavit to be notarized.

The affidavit will serve as legal sufficient proof on its own. This can make the probate process go much quicker and can help out the executor of the estate since there will be no need for them to locate the witnesses to appear in court. This in turn will negate the requirement of having the witnesses appear in court to testify that they watched the testator sign the will after the testator has died. In most states, the probate court will accept this affidavit as proof that the will is valid. The affidavit must be notarized (i.e., signed by and in front of a licensed notary) for it to be considered valid. For the purposes of a self-proving will, two witnesses must sign the affidavit, certifying that they were the parties who watched the testator sign the will instrument. An affidavit is a legal document that contains a written statement of oath. A “self-proving” will is basically a will that has an affidavit attached to it.