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Ask the Attorney Zehava Schechter, Esq.
Can I Make Changes to My Will on My Own? I am a single person, never married and without any children. I want to change portions of my Last Will and Testament, Health Care Proxy, and Power of Attorney – especially my appointment of agents. I do not have any close relatives to name as my agent or executor. May I cross out the names and write in the new names I choose? The Attorney Responds: Thank you for your letter. It is wise to have estate planning documents (also called advance directives) in place. Every adult needs to do estate planning regardless of marital status or age. Whether married, single, divorced, or widowed, we do not know when we will pass or no longer be mentally competent to handle our own personal matters. As I have written in this column previously, the right time to do estate planning is yesterday (or at least, today). Who knows what tomorrow will bring? My clients usually tell me after signing their Health Care Proxy, Power of Attorney, and Last Will and Testament, that they feel a sense of relief and calm because they have insured that their wishes are known and will be followed. While you may think that a married person or parent would name his/ her spouse or adult child as agent (and many do), many do not. The right person to name as agent or executor (of your Will) is the person you trust to carry out your decisions and whom you believe will act as you wish. This may be a close friend, extended relative, or rabbi. In the case where a person does not want to name even a close friend, it is possible to appoint an attorney. The agent or executor must be at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to accept the appointment. Please discuss this requested appointment with your nominee to obtain his/her consent prior to executing new documents. Now to the second part of your question: How do you keep your documents valid while making small changes to them? The short answer is that this cannot be done. Once you make
changes to these official documents, you are effectively revoking (or cancelling) them. Any writing, crossouts, tearing, or other changes to your documents will likely invalidate them and make them unenforceable by any court. In addition, never remove staples from a Last Will and Testament (LWT). Removal of staples is an almost certain guarantee that the LWT will be disqualified and not honored. As you may be aware, you may
change your documents at any time as long as specific requirements are met. Years ago, attorneys would prepare a codicil (amendment) to an advance directive. The codicil would be executed in the same way as the original document, namely signed by the principal in front of two (2) disinterested witnesses and a notary public. Today, it is easy to modify documents on computers using word processing software. Therefore, codicils and other amendments have fallen out of favor with estate planning attorneys. If you are making changes (even small ones), it is much better legal practice to prepare and execute new advance directives. Please do not make any changes to your advance directives until you speak with an estate planning attorney. Good luck to you. No column is a substitute for competent legal advice. Please consult with the attorney of your choice concerning specific legal questions you may have. W. Zehava Schechter, Esq. specializes in real estate law, estate planning and administration, and business law. Her law practice is located on Long Island. Please send your comments to SchechterLaw@gmail. com.