If I write a will leaving all my money to "james smith" would all the james smiths fight over it?

Voli_Cuti

Not if u put either their address, middle name, or if u tell ur lawyer which one

Andy

The court would try to figure out which James Smith you mean (normally one specifies which by giving date of birth, residence, relationship to you, etc.)

If the executor isn't sure and the probate judge can't decide, the legacy lapses and is distributed as residual estate. And, if necessary, as in intestacy (according to the rules for inheritance without a will).

They might try, but the costs of dealing with them could use up all your money.

Barking mad

Do you want my address?
James Smith.
xx

boy boy

ihope not .you and i have allways been the best of mates.and i love you dearly ..it would hurt me deeply to know that there are people out there who would take advantage of your wonderful generosity ..so please be careful of people who try to befreind you take good care of your self ..all my love and best wishes ... yourvery best freind ..james smith ..REMEMBERyou can kiss a nun once and you can kiss them twice ..but you musnt get into the habit

dm_dragons

No, not being clear is not grounds for making a claim against an estate.

The likely benefactor would end up being the state.

Fawn M

Quite possibly. But sinnce it was't clear as to which James Smith you were referring to the will might not be legal and all your assets could go to the state.

LYN W

Hi,

I can see your point but no this would probably not happen, in law there must be certainty of subject matter when the will is made so the beneficiary must be specifically identifiable. If not that part of the estate goes back to the estate as a whole. There are other complexities involed in this eventuality but strictly speaking, no it would not happen.

Terry

No. Your will would go to probate, and the court would decide if there was a James Smith with a reasonable claim. They might also just set aside the will if it doesn't sufficiently identify the intended recipient.

Norm

coxon the box

No, because you would have to add his address, and in the case of a name like this, probably an occupation or work address too to avoid confusion.

Doethineb

Yes, if there was nothing in the will to identify the James Smith in question. However, any James Smith who was unable to establish a close enough connection with you to warrant your leaving him all your money would probably put himself out of the running, having squandered a certain amount of the estate's money in fighting his spurious claim.

This isn't a good idea. After all, you'd miss all the fun!

bettysdad

Your will has to state the relitionship between you and the heir. Even if it's your cat.

Not Ecky Boy

You would normally put the address of the person, and your executor would make sure it didn't go to some totally obscure OTHER person.

Nice question though!

nswblue

Yes - unless you specified which James Smith!@~

babydoll

Possibly, if you did not make clear in your will which James Smith you wanted to receive it. For example: James Smith, 4325 Lucky Lane, born July 4, 1966, son of Mary and Nathan Smith
This is why you should have attorney help you with this.

sweet-cookie

Probably LOL!

spend your money yourself and enjoy life !
we only get one turn .....

Have a Happy Christmas

>^,,^<

devora k

depends on how much money you will leave

barb

you can't just put a persons name, you have to have more details, like their address ss# etc.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: