A woman sits down one Sunday afternoon and writes out exactly what she wants: who gets the house, who gets her mother’s ring, who’s in charge when she’s gone. She signs it. She puts it in a drawer, satisfied. She tells herself she’s handled it.
She hadn’t.
When she dies years later, her family finds the letter. It’s specific, it’s clearly in her handwriting, it’s dated and signed. And it’s not a will — not a legally binding one, anyway.No witnesses. No notarization. None of the formalities Florida law requires for a document actually to control what happens to her estate.
The court can’t just honor it because it’s obviously what she wanted. Intent isn’t the standard. Execution is. Without the right signatures in the right place, the letter is evidence of a wish, not an instruction the law has to follow. Her estate ends up distributed under the state’s default rules instead — the same rules that apply to someone who left no instructions at all.
A properly executed will would’ve taken the same afternoon. Same decisions, same handwriting even, if she wanted. The difference is two witnesses in the room with a notary, and a signature done the way the law requires. That’s the whole gap between a wish and a will.
People assume that putting something in writing is the finish line. It’s the starting line. What makes it count isn’t the paper — it’s whether it was signed the way the law says it has to be.
That’s not a technicality. That’s the entire reason the document works.
If you’re not sure whether what you have would actually hold up, that’s the right place to start.
The Curran Law Firm handles estate planning and trust administration in Jupiter, Florida. We make sure your will is signed, witnessed, and executed the way Florida law requires —so it works when it needs to.
Call 561-935-9763 to schedule your appointment.
