What Is A Holographic Will?

Despite how it may sound, a Holographic Will, is not a will forged out of some kind of space age technology from Star Trek. In fact, it can be quite the opposite.

A holographic will is defined as, the hand written document prepared by a person without authenticating it by a witness while signing the document as the will of the person to deal his estates. Holographic Wills are generally accepted by the courts unless proving the contrary.

In most normal cases a will would need to be signed by witnesses that can attest to the validity of the testator's intent and be able to verify the signature. However, in many jurisdictions, a holographic will that has not been witnessed can be treated as equal to a witnessed will and only has to meet the minimal requirements of the probate process.

A holographic will could be thought of as a will in case of emergency. For example, if you are somehow trapped, alone, and fearing that death is imminent, you can quickly write your last wishes onto whatever material might be on hand at that moment. As was the case of a man who holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the shortest will, who simply wrote; "All to wife" on the bedroom wall.

While a holographic will can be a quick-fix last minute solution, it should never take the place of an actual well thought out estate plan. Avoid the risks and contact a professional Los Angeles estate litigation Lawyer.

*This blog entry was not written by an Attorney and should not be constituted as professional legal advice.