Example 1: \u201cIf there is not enough evidence to determine that my spouse and I died other than simultaneously, it shall be conclusively presumed for the purpose of this Will that [I died first\/my spouse died first].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Example 2: \u201cIf my spouse fails to survive me for a period of 60 days, s\/he will be conclusively presumed to have predeceased me for the purpose of executing the provisions of this Will.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
1. TESTIMONIUM<\/strong>: This part isn\u2019t required under Florida law, but it is a good idea to include it. It emphasizes and makes clear the declarations that you have made and your understanding of the implication of the document you are creating and signing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

   Example: \u201cI have declared to the signing witnesses that this is my Last Will and Testament. I initialed each page, then signed it in their presence in Magic Kingdom, Florida, on June 21, 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

   \n
   1. ATTESTATION<\/strong>: This, like the testimonium, is not required but is highly recommended to decrease the likelihood that your will will be challenged or voided due to failure to legally formalize it. It notes that the required witnesses did and saw what they are required to do and see under Florida law.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Example: \u201cWe witnesses were both present and together with the testrix, Mary Kay LeTurnip, on the day and year written in the previous section. We observed and heard the testator publish and declare this document as her Last Will and Testament, and we observed her sign and seal it. At her request and in her presence and in the presence of each other, we each signed this document as an attesting witness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      _____________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Witness One Signature and Address<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      ____________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Witness Two  Signature and Address<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
      1. SELF-PROOF AFFIDAVIT<\/strong>: Once again, this is not required but is highly advisable. It makes it clear to the court what your wishes were and prevents the personal representative from having to provide additional proof to the court when he or she submits your will for probate.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

         Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I, Wyatt Derp, declare to the officer taking my acknowledgment of this instrument and to the subscribing witnesses, that I signed this instrument as my Last Will and Testament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         ___________________________________________________                                                                                                                                Wyatt Derp, Testator<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         We, Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, have been sworn by the officer signing below and declare to him or her, on oath, that the testator declared the instrument to be the testator\u2019s Last Will and Testament and signed it in our presence and that we each signed it as a witness in the presence of the testator and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         ___________________________________________________                                                                                                                Witness One  Signature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         ___________________________________________________                                                                                                                Witness Two  Signature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER (Sample Basic Will):<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         <\/em><\/strong>\u201cI\u2019m not sure about all this dyin\u2019 talk, girls\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF BLANCHE DEVEREAUX<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I, Blanche Devereaux, declare this document consisting of eight Articles to be my Last Will and Testament, and I revoke all of my former Wills and Codicils. I do not hereby revoke any prior separate writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         Article I \u2013 Citizenship & Residency<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I declare that I am a dual citizen of the United States of America and of the French Republic (R\u00e9publique fran\u00e7aise) and am a resident of the State of Florida. My county of legal residence is Miami-Dade. If I am a domicile of Florida at the time of my death, I direct that the original administration of my estate shall be conducted in the county in which I was domiciled at the time of my death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         Article II \u2013 Personal Representative and Alternate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I nominate Sophia Petrillo as personal representative of my estate. If my designated personal representative fails to qualify or cannot or does not wish to serve, I nominate Stanley Zbornak as my alternative personal representative. I direct that my personal representative not be required to post bond for the faithful performance of his or her duties under this will and under the laws of the State of Florida, or in any other jurisdiction in which my fiduciaries may qualify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         My personal representative or alternative personal representative shall be entitled to receive reasonable compensation the same as any non-beneficiary (individual) personal representative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         Article III \u2013 Powers of the Personal Representative<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I grant to my personal representative the power to sell, assign, transfer, mortgage, acquire, or grant options to purchase and convey any security or property of my estate, real or personal, at public or private sale, and at a time and a price and upon terms and conditions, including on credit, as my personal representative may determine and see fit. My personal representative shall not be required to rent any residence owned by me at death during the period of administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I authorize my personal representative to open and maintain an account to purchase and sell securities, in cash or on margin, and to hold those securities in the name of a nominee. If there is no corporate personal representative serving, I grant the personal representative the authority to retain a professional investment advisor to whom the personal representative may delegate fiduciary determinations and responsibility as provided in Florida Statutes Section 518.112, and that investment advisor\u2019s fees shall be paid as an expense of the estate regardless of whether investment functions were delegated to him or her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I grant my personal representative authority to continue to operate any business, whether incorporated or unincorporated, which is owned by me at my death, specifically including the power to invest additional estate funds in the business whether as capital investment or as operating funds, all without limitation as to time, and to convert a form of the business or venture into another business form including but not limited to to or from a corporate form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         I additionally grant to my personal representative every power granted to trustees under Part VII of Chapter 736 of the Florida Statutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         Article IV \u2013 Beneficiaries Named<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

         The following people are named in some capacity in this Will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

         \n
         1. My brother,Clayton Devereaux<\/strong>, whose current address is 555 Big Texas Lane, Tyler, Texas, 75701.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
         2. My best friend, Rose Nylund<\/strong>, whose current address is 6151 Richmond Street, Miami, Florida 33144.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
         3. My other best friend, Dorothy Zbornak<\/strong>, whose current address is 6151 Richmond Street, Miami, Florida, 33144.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
         4. My other other best friend, Sophia Petrillo<\/strong>, whose current address is 6151 Richmond Street, Miami, Florida.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            I intentionally omit my three children, Biff, Douglas, and Rebecca, as they have never made an appearance in my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Article V \u2013 Separate Writing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I may prepare a list from time to time, separate from this will, in order to dispose of my tangible personal property. If such a list is prepared, it will be signed and dated. It will clearly describe each item of property in order that it may be identified and shall identify the person whom I desire to receive the property. If no list is found within 30 days of the issuance of Letters of Administration, it shall be conclusively presumed that no such list was created or exists. The list takes precedence over contrary dispositions set forth in this Will. Each item devised on the list shall be considered a devise under this Will. The list shall be offered for probate in the same manner as this Will and shall be construed in accordance with the rules of construction applicable to Will devises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Article VI \u2013 Special Devises<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I hereby leave my home at 6151 Richmond Street, Miami, Florida 33144 to Dorothy Zbornak, Rose Nylund, and Sophia Petrillo, with an undivided one-third share of the interest therein going to each individual.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I hereby leave all monies in my Bank of American account to Stanley Zbornak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Article VII \u2013 Residuary Devise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I devise the residue of my estate to my brother, Clayton Devereaux. If Clayton does not survive me, I alternatively leave the residue of my estate to Dorothy Zbornak, Rose Nylund, and Sophia Petrillo in equal shares, and if any shall not survive me, to their issue per stirpes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Article VIII \u2013 Survival<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Except as otherwise specifically provided in Article VI above, If any of my beneficiaries shall fail to survive me for a period of 30 days, s\/he will be conclusively presumed to have predeceased me for the purpose of executing the provisions of this Will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Testimonium<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I have declared to the signing witnesses that this is my Last Will and Testament. I initialed each page, then signed it in their presence in Miami, Florida on June 21, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Attestation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            We witnesses were both present and together with the testatrix, Blanche Devereaux, on the day and year written in the previous section. We observed and heard the testatrix publish and declare this document as her Last Will and Testament, and we observed her sign and seal it. At her request and in her presence and in the presence of each other, we each signed this document as attesting witnesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            _____________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Witness One Signature and Address<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            ______________________________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Witness Two  Signature and Address<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            I, Blanche Devereaux, declare to the officer taking my acknowledgment of this instrument and to the subscribing witnesses that I signed this instrument as my Last Will and Testament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            ___________________________________________ ________________________________________                    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Blanche Devereaux, Testatrix                                            Date<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            We, Witness One and Witness Two, have been sworn by the officer signing below and declare to the officer, on oath, that the testatrix declared the instrument to be her Last Will and Testament and signed it in our presence, and we further declare that we each signed it as witness in the presence of the testatrix and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            ___________________________________________________                                                                                                                          Witness One  Signature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            ___________________________________________________                                                                                                                 Witness Two  Signature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Acknowledged and subscribed before me by the testatrix, Blanche Devereaux, who is personally known to me or who has produced a Florida driver\u2019s license or other documentation described in Florida Statute \u00a7117.05(5)(b)2 as identification and sworn to and subscribed before me by the witness, Witness One, who is personally known to me or who has produced a Florida driver\u2019s license or other documentation described in Florida Statute \u00a7117.05(5)(b)2 as identification and Witness Two, who is personally known to me or who has produced a Florida driver\u2019s license or other documentation described in Florida Statute \u00a7117.05(5)(b)2 as identification, and subscribed by me in the presence of the testator and the subscribing witnesses, all on June 21, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            NOTARY SEAL<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            _________________________________________                                                                                                                                    Notary Signature<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            If you need assistance in creating or reviewing your basic will (or a more comprehensive, complex will, trust, or other estate document), please contact Parris Law, P.A. at (407) 706-3967 or info@parrislaw.org. We\u2019ll be happy to help you out.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            DISCLAIMER: The following is legal information and NOT legal advice. Nothing in the article below should be construed to create an attorney-client relationship, and I strongly recommend that you see an attorney to at least have him or her look over your estate documents. Give us a call at (407) 706-3967 if we can help. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"slim_seo":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,40,38],"tags":[21,16,19,22],"class_list":["post-1043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","category-probate","category-wills","tag-basic-will","tag-estate-administration","tag-probate","tag-will"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1043"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1213,"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1043\/revisions\/1213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1043"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1043"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/parrislaw.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1043"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}