Reference no: EM132449281

Dictated Amendment (Codicil) to a Will

1. What is the implication of a separate writing addressing tangible personal property if a will is in existence and allows for this possibility? What are the requirements for this separate writing? Would it matter what was contained in the separate writing? Even if the document were not challenged, would it even be legal?

• A client died, leaving behind a will that allows specific distribution of tangible personal property by a separate writing. During the last days of her life, the client dictated a separate writing to a trusted friend because she could no longer write. The trusted friend, subsequently and shortly after the client's death, wrote the items down and had the separate writing witnessed by a neighbor who was present when the client dictated the list.

Based on the above information, answer the following questions:

1. One of the remaining beneficiaries might contest the contents of the handwritten memorandum. How does the term extrinsic evidence apply to this situation?
2. Because the client did not write the memo but dictated it, and the scrivener wrote it down after the death of the client, what result do you think will occur from litigation over this matter?
3. Would a "no contest" provision have changed the outcome here?