Do Pages of a Will Have To Be Numbered ?

[Dmitri]

Jurisdiction

California

I am tired of making small mistakes, trying to type up my own will, and having to re-do it. I read that if you RE-STAPLE the pages of a will, THAT can call into question the will's validity. My current version is 2 pages, has 2 witness signatures, etc., per requirements, plus each witnesses' initials at the bottom of each page (plus mine). But, I forgot to NUMBER the pages. What think ye ?

 

[army judge]

All you might ever want to know about creating a holographic will in California.


California Holographic Will Requirements

...

 

[Dmitri]

All you might ever want to know about creating a holographic will in California.


California Holographic Will Requirements

...

Thanks, but my will was TYPED up by myself. Holographic wills according to the link, have to be handwritten.

 

[Tax Counsel]

I am tired of making small mistakes, trying to type up my own will, and having to re-do it. I read that if you RE-STAPLE the pages of a will, THAT can call into question the will's validity. My current version is 2 pages, has 2 witness signatures, etc., per requirements, plus each witnesses' initials at the bottom of each page (plus mine). But, I forgot to NUMBER the pages. What think ye ?

There is no requirement that the pages be numbered. It is, however, generally considered good practice to do that. I typically number the pages of the wills I do for clients at the bottom of each page with the current page number and total pages, e.g. as follows: 1 of 12, 2 of 12, etc. A will is perfectly valid without it. The problem occurs when a claim is made the will is incomplete, has been tampered with, etc. Where there is evidence that a stapled will has been restapled that opens the door to someone claiming that one or more pages have been substituted/added/deleted. Numbering the pages as I do helps deter some of that potential for tampering, in particular the problem of adding or removing pages, but may not completely avoid it since a substitution of just a single page (still numbered properly) isn't helped by numbering. I do a number of things to help guard against will tampering. But in the end whether the will challenge based on tampering would succeed will depend on the totality of the claim and the will at issue. The lack of page numbers does not mean a challenge would succeed. One would have to look at the will in question to see if something more than just the restapling might indicate a problem.

 

[army judge]

Thanks, but my will was TYPED up by myself. Holographic wills according to the link, have to be handwritten.

Good for you, you're a big boy or girl.

 

[Dmitri]

Thank you, TAX COUNSEL and ARMY JUDGE !

 

[zddoodah]

I read that if you RE-STAPLE the pages of a will, THAT can call into question the will's validity.

That sounds silly (especially since it's not required that a will be stapled). Where did you read that? If you read it online, please provide a link.

But, I forgot to NUMBER the pages. What think ye ?

Do Pages of a Will Have To Be Numbered ?

There is no requirement in California or any other state that the pages of a will be numbered. At worst, if someone couldn't figure out the order of the pages, it might impact the administration of the will, but that's highly unlikely.

 

[Dmitri]

4 Things You Should Do When Writing A Will (Which My Dad Didn't)

Never, Ever Unstaple a Will (And Did I Mention Never, Ever?)

That sounds silly (especially since it's not required that a will be stapled). Where did you read that? If you read it online, please provide a link.