Probating a Lost Will or a Will as an Ancient Document

There are significant benefits to having an attorney prepare your Will.  Some are more evident than others.  In this post, we are going to discuss some less obvious but highly advantageous benefits for an attorney-drafted Last Will and Testament.

What happens if the attorney-draftsman who prepares your Will and supervises the execution ceremony dies before you do and the original Will, still in the custody of the attorney, is then lost?  What happens if, before you die, one of the witnesses to the Will also passes away?  There are a significant number of cases where a decedent signed a Will many years ago and where the original Will remained in the custody of the attorney-draftsman, leaving the decedent with only a conformed copy.  A conformed copy will contain the names and addresses of all signatories, including the testator/testatrix, but it is not signed by either the testator/testatrix or any of the witnesses.  The attorney's "back" will be affixed to the conformed copy and marked as a conformed copy. 

In order to prevent the probate of fraudulent Wills, New York's SCPA § 1407 establishes what proof is necessary to admit to probate a lost or destroyed Will:
"A lost or destroyed will may be admitted to probate only if

     1. It is established that the will has not been revoked, and

     2. Execution of the will is proved in the manner required for the probate of an existing will, and

     3. All of the provisions of the will are clearly and distinctly proved by each of at least two credible witnesses or by a copy or draft of the will proved to be true and complete."

If there is a conformed copy of the original Will found among the decedent's possessions, then that conformed copy will take the place of one of the credible witnesses.   The remaining credible witness must be able then to testify as to the substance of the original Will in order for the Will to be admitted to probate.   Recalling the substance of the Will meets the publication requirement.   In re Estate of Kleefeld , 55 N.Y.2d 253, 433 N.E.2d 521, 1982 N.Y. LEXIS 3542, 448 N.Y.S.2d 456 (Feb. 25, 1982),  the Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division's ruling to admit the  conformed copy of a Will lost while in the possession of the attorney-draftsman to probate, holding that "each of the witnesses must testify to all the principal parts of the will" (Id., at 258).  Since the remaining witness could not recall the substantive parts of the Will, probate was denied.  The proponent of the Will could not meet its burden on the issue of due execution.

But what happens in the case where the attorney-draftsman has passed away as well as both attesting witnesses? One of the exceptions to the Federal Rules of Evidence against hearsay that applies even when the declarant is not available as a witness is called the "ancient document rule" (Rule 803(16)): "A statement in a document that is at least 20 years old and whose authenticity is established."   New York State Surrogate's Courts have a long history of borrowing from the ancient document rule when it comes to probating a an old Will where the witnesses have predeceased the testator.
New York's SCPA § 1405 (4) states that "If all of the attesting witnesses are dead or incompetent or unable to testify by reason of physical or mental condition or are absent from the state and their testimony has been dispensed with as provided in this section the will may nevertheless be admitted to probate upon proof of the handwriting of the testator and of at least one of the attesting witnesses and such other facts as would be sufficient to prove the will."

The courts have added three elements necessary to have a Will admitted to probate as an ancient document.  First, the Will must be more than twenty (20) years old.  Second, the Will must have been taken from a natural place of custody (for example, the decedent's safe deposit box or filing cabinet).  And third, the Will must be of an unsuspicious nature.  Any alterations to the original Will must be fully explained. In In re Estate of Tier (3 Misc.3d 587,772 N.Y.S.2d 500, 2004 N.Y.Misc. Lexis 48 (Feb. 2, 2004), the Surrogate's Court of New York County admitted an ancient document to probate but without the alterations made to the Will.  The proponent of the Will stood to benefit from the alterations and failed to produce evidence sufficient to show that the alterations preceded the Will execution.  Once the proponent failed to produce the evidence, the burden shifted to the residuary beneficiaries, the ones who stood to lose from the alterations, to show that the alteration preceded the Will execution.  Since the residuary beneficiaries failed to provide such evidence, the Will was admitted to probate in its original form and without the alterations.

However, in the case of a lost Will or a Will propounded as an ancient document, the court must still be satisfied under SCPA § 1408 of "the genuineness of the will and the validity of its execution," as well as the competence of the testator and the absence of fraud and undue influence.  Thus, whether the Will offered for probate is a conformed copy or an ancient document, it is still open to be examined by any party to the probate proceeding under SCPA § 1404 either before or after the filing of objections.

If you would like to discuss your own personal situation with me, review your current Will, or put together an estate plan that is tailored for your needs, you can get a free 30-minute consultation simply by filling out this contact form. I will get back to you promptly.

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