Printing The Will
Before you print your Will, be sure that you turn off the text
that your web browser prints by default at the top and bottom of each page.
But leave the printing of page numbers on, or turn it on, because your Will must
at least contain page numbers on each page for it to be a legal document.
For example, if you use Microsoft Internet Explorer select
"File" / "Page Setup..." and delete all of the codes that appear in the Headers
and Footers sections. Then enter "&p" into the Footer section to print the
current page number at the bottom of each page.
If you use Netscape, select "File" / "Page Setup...", click on
the "Margins & Header/Footer" tab, and set all of the Headers & Footers options
to "--blank--". Then change the bottom "Center:" option to "Page #" to
print the current page number at the bottom of each page. If you don't see
these options, then you are probably using an older version of the Netscape
browser, in which case you should remove all of the checkmarks in the Headers
and Footers section except for "Page Number".
Other web browsers will have similar options. If you
require more information, check the help documentation for your web browser.
Before you make these changes to your browser print
settings, you may wish to write down their original settings so that you can
restore them after you print your Will. For example, the default print
settings in Internet Explorer are:
Header: &w&bPage&p
of &P
Footer: &u&b&d
You print your Will by clicking the "View or Print your Will"
link and selecting
"File" / "Print..." from the window which appears.
Signing The Will
In order to make the Will a legal document, you should first
print it and read it thoroughly. Make sure that it accurately reflects your
wishes and that you understand everything that is contained in the document.
Once you are happy that it reflects your wishes, you must sign your Will in the
presence of at least two witnesses (three in some jurisdictions), and these witnesses must also sign the
Will, in the presence of the "testator" (yourself) and in the presence
of each other. You and the witnesses should also initial each page, so that it
is not possible to alter any pages after the Will has been signed. A witness
cannot be a beneficiary of the Will, they cannot be the spouse of a beneficiary
(at the time of signing), they cannot be a minor, and, like the
"testator" (you), they must be of sound mind.
For the signing procedure, gather the witnesses together in a
room. You should make a formal statement that you have gathered them to witness
the signing of your Will. They do not have to read the Will or know its
contents. They are only required to witness your signature.
You should initial each page in turn, and then sign your name
in full on the last page, in full view of the witnesses. Each witness then in
turn initials each page and signs the last page. Everybody must stay present
until all of the signing is complete. Each witness should write their address
alongside their signature, print their name below, and then add the date.
There should only be one original of the Will for everyone to
sign. Copies can be created by photocopy. It is therefore a good idea to sign
the original in blue ink, so that it is easily distinguishable from the
photocopies. Do not sign the photocopies, as this will create duplicate originals
which can be difficult to administer.
Store your printed document in a safe place, and keep it stored here at PartingWishes.com
so that you can make updates easily in the future.
If you live outside of the United States and Canada (or are a
resident of Louisiana in the United States, or of Quebec in Canada), you should use
this document in preparation for a meeting with an attorney who can draft a
legal Will. This legal Will must be signed and witnessed according to the laws
in your local jurisdiction.
Affidavit
After you have passed away, the executor of your Will must prove that
your Will was signed properly. In order to do this, at least one of the witnesses
must confirm under oath that the Will was signed and witnessed correctly,
including confirmation that they were personally present, that the person who
executed the Will is known to that witness, that the Will was executed at the
place and on the date specified, and that all witnesses and the testator were of
the legal age of majority.
If none of the witnesses can be located, or if they are no
longer living at the time of probate, the validity of the Will can still be
proven by a witness who can testify that the handwriting and signature of the
testator are genuine.
Another more convenient approach, however, is to have the
witnesses sign under oath (in the presence of a Notary Public) an
"affidavit of execution" which can then be appended to the Will. This
is an optional step, but it eliminates the need for the witnesses to testify in
court at the probating of the Will. If you wish to do this, you should contact a
Notary Public in your area and have one of your witnesses accompany you with
your Will to swear under oath that the signing of the Will was conducted
correctly. Notary Publics can be found in your local telephone directory
or "yellow pages".
If you live outside of the United States and Canada (or are a
resident of Louisiana in the United States, or of Quebec in Canada), you should
obtain legal advice to ensure that you Will is signed and witnessed according to the laws
in your local jurisdiction.
After The Will Is Signed
After the Will is signed you must keep the original and all
copies in a safe place, and let your
executor know where the original is stored. This can be done through the PartingWishes.com MyMessages™ service if
you want to ensure that your executor or particular family members remember
where your Will is located, or if you are reluctant to disclose the location of
your Will prior to your death. The MyFuneral™
service also allows you to document the location of your Will.
If you have chosen to store your Will online so that you can
make unlimited updates, although the unsigned version of your Will stored online at PartingWishes.com is not a legal document, if you wish you can allow one or more
of your designated "Keyholders®" to have access to the Will that you
have created.
Assigning Keyholders®
If you have chosen to store your Will online so that you can
make unlimited updates, then you are
able to access and update your Will at any time by going to the
PartingWishes.com web site and logging on with the Userid and Password that you
have chosen. For now, you should use the MyKeyholders™ service at
PartingWishes.com to assign
one or more personal "Keyholders®" to your MyWill™ service.
A "Keyholder®" is someone that you decide to trust with
the power to unlock your wishes when the time is right. Each Keyholder® is
assigned a private, secure, randomly-generated "Keyholder® ID" which
they will use to login and access your wishes when it is eventually required.
You can designate up to 20 different Keyholders® and you can
even specify, for each Keyholder®, what specific information they can unlock. In
particular, you should give at least one of your Keyholders® the power to unlock
and access your Will after you have passed away. In addition to close
friends or family members, it is a good idea to ensure that your executor is a
Keyholder® for your MyWill™ service. This could be
particularly important if your legally signed copy cannot be located (for
example, if it burned in a house fire). In this situation, your
Will stored online at PartingWishes.com can still provide some guidance to a loving family, as
they can understand how you wanted your property to be distributed.
With a valid Keyholder® ID, your Keyholder® can access
information such as your Will, health care directives or funeral wishes from
anywhere in the world after you have passed away. Security mechanisms to prevent
unauthorized premature access to your wishes are also available and are fully
configurable by you. These are described in more detail in the help text
associated with the MyKeyholders™ service at PartingWishes.com.
You must also let your designated Keyholders® know that you are
asking them to take on the important responsibility of unlocking your Will when
the time is right. At the very least, they need to know their Keyholder® ID
and the web address of the
PartingWishes.com
web site. You can choose to do this yourself.
However, to make this very easy for you, we recommend that you let us notify
your Keyholder® for you. There are 2 options:
- We can send them an email, customizable by you, which
contains all of the information they need to know. This is a free
service.
- We can send them a customized wallet card by postal mail
which contains all of their important information. There is a small
charge for this service, but it has the advantage of providing a permanent
physical record which can be kept by your Keyholder® with their own important
documents for easy retrieval. This option is also handy if your
Keyholder® doesn't have a known email address or if you have decided to share
a single Keyholder® ID with more than one person.
More information on creating and notifying your Keyholders® can
be found in the MyKeyholders™ service at PartingWishes.com.
Updating Your Will
Your Will comes into effect only after your death and is
strictly confidential until that time. Throughout your life, your are free to
update your Will as often as you like, either by making an amendment, or by
drafting a new Will. An amendment to an existing will is called a
"codicil" and must follow the same form and structure of a full Will (i.e. it must be
properly signed and witnessed). Consequently, writing a codicil is not
usually much of a shortcut. In fact, it can lead to significant confusion.
If you have chosen to store your Will online so that you can
make unlimited updates, then you are
able to access and update your Will at any time by going to the
PartingWishes.com web site and logging on with the Userid and Password that you
have chosen.
It is
strongly recommended that if you wish to make changes to your Will, that you
create a new Will and revoke all previous Wills. If you have chosen to store
your Will online, each time you modify your
existing Will stored online at PartingWishes.com, the MyWill™ service does just
that --- it produces a new Will that revokes all of your previous Wills.
Not updating a Will can be as bad as not having a Will at
all. Even if you feel that there have not been many changes in your life, your
Will should be reviewed every year on a routine basis.
Beyond the routine reviews of your Will, you should consider
updating your Will in the following circumstances:
