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What is a Deathbed Will?

Nashville Blog 2018 April What is a Deathbed Will?
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What is a Deathbed Will?

Posted By David Whittaker, Attorney at Law || 5-Apr-2018

When someone is facing imminent death, he or she may decide to draft a will, or tear up their old will and sign a new one – this is often referred to as a “deathbed will.” Unfortunately, when someone is weeks, days, or even hours from death, they may not be in the right state of mind to carefully consider the provisions of their will and this can make concerned family members question if the will-maker is making good choices.

A will made at the hospital can be as valid and binding as one made at an attorney’s office if it’s executed according to Tennessee law. For a deathbed will to be valid under Tennessee law, it must be:

  • Signed by the will-maker in front of two witnesses.
  • The witnesses must sign the will.

“Does a will need to be notarized to be considered legal and valid?” No. Under Tennessee law, a will does not need to be notarized in order to be valid. However, if a will-maker wants to speed up the probate process, they need to make the will “self-proving” and in order to do that, the will-maker, along with the witnesses, need to have it notarized. With a self-proving will, the probate court can accept it without contacting the witnesses who signed the document.

What if the Will-Maker is Being Controlled?

Tennessee does not have any laws governing when and where a will can be drafted, so it’s not uncommon for people to sign deathbed wills from their hospital beds or homes when they have days, if not hours to live. Sometimes, a terminally ill person felt that creating a will was morbid, or they meant to do it but never got around to it.

Others prepared a will, but circumstances in their lives changed and they don’t want to bequeath their assets to the same beneficiaries, or they want their assets distributed differently than they did before. Or, a will-maker may realize that their will is outdated and they want to revoke it and write a new one.

Whatever the will-maker’s reasons for changing their will, if the deathbed will is executed according to state law, it is legally valid and binding. But regardless of the circumstances, the new will has to be signed by two witnesses. And these witnesses can be very important to the probate court.

After the person’s death, if there is any question if the decedent was under duress or unduly influenced by a beneficiary, the probate court will call the witnesses to court and have them testify under oath about what they saw when the person signed the deathbed will. Was the decedent aware of what they were doing? Did the decedent know what he or she owned and who the beneficiaries were? These are the types of questions the court will ask of the witnesses.

Related: I Think I Have a Will Contest

Have Questions About the Validity of a Will?

Do you have questions about the validity of a deathbed will, or any will? Contact my firm to speak with a Nashville probate attorney. While will contests are rare, they do happen, especially when someone signed a deathbed will when they were unaware of what was happening or being manipulated by an heir. A lawyer can help you understand the laws, as well as your legal options.

Categories: Inheritance, Probate, Wills, Estate Planning, Will Contest, Estate Litigation, Intestate Succession, Deathbed Wills

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David Whittaker, Attorney at Law - Nashville Probate Attorney
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