A copy of a will in possession of a client

By Anonymous on Thu, 09/29/2016 - 14:54

Forums

My client has photocopies of her mother's will and her father's will. The father's will is in a blue folder provided by lawyers and reads

"Last will and testament of xxxxxxx

dated Stepmber 7, 1979

as modified by

Superior Court Judgment

Dated October 21, 1983"

Then at the bottom of the outside of the folder, the name and address of the law firm. Is this document enough to use as an original source of information (for names of his children), or do I need to find the probate record?

The mother's will is just a photocopy with no outside cover.

Submitted byEEon Fri, 09/30/2016 - 14:32

Ann, what you have is an original. A recorded will that appears in probate register would be a derivative of this. That said, of course you or your client should seek the probate packet--not just the register--for any and all documents recorded created as part of the probate process. One document alone never tells the whole story of any event in a human life.