Would this will be valid in the U.S.?

I am not a lawyer, but I have experience with estates. I believe that that would be valid, as long as the nieces and nephews did not object. I believe that it could be thrown out as a condition, if anyone did object.

I'd think a lawyer might change wording and find loopholes to close. Also some of the personal remarks might fall to the side. A personal letter, attached to the will might make those feelings clear to whoever executes the will or judges challenges to it. Probably need some definitions attached to the will as well.

Overall, the concept seems rational. It might also make a difference when the will was written (which era)

This isn't a legal site. No matter how well intentioned, legal advice given by people who aren't lawyers isn't going to help you.

Anyone can write a will to say whatever they want. Whether it will hold up in a court of law is entirely different. Each state has its own probate laws, but if the executor and those named in the will agree to the terms, that's all that matters. I know your novel spans decades, so if the will is from the earlier period of time, a lawyer might not have been used.

Layman's understanding from various discussions:

A will which makes life-changing demands on its beneficiaries is generally unenforceable. For example - "My daughter must marry Harry or she gets nothing." This will you present could come very close to that - they are being expected to uproot their own lives every few weeks (at their own expense?) to give personal care to their mother. No provision made for their own family obligations, or for, at some point, hiring someone to take care of her (which, frankly, seems the logical thing to do - provide a trust fund to pay for a live-in caregiver), or for any other unexpected events which could prevent one or more of them from following the mandate. Should something of that nature occur, I'm pretty sure a judge would throw the thing out, or at the very least, modify it.

My reaction is that it is presumptively valid, but has a whole lot of problems. It looks like it would make a good beginning for a law school question in estates. Personally if I was trying to secure this result, I'd think about some better approaches.

First question I would have is the competency of the testator. Although on the surface, these reads soundly, but it's weird and could be the result of a delusion, either from dementia or other mental defect.

Second question I would have is the size of the estate. This would only make sense for a substantial estate, but there are better ways to ensure the care of her sister than this for someone who has the financial resources.

Third big question I would have is what are the medical needs of the sister. If she needs skilled care, how are the relatives expected to provide this.

Then I'd get into a whole bunch of minor points. It has public policy problems, it has coercive problems, it has some logic problems, but it could survive.

As a basis for a story, I'd buy it. Hell, it's no weirder than the provision for Leona Hemsley's mutt or some other cases.

I guess my question is what does your story need. But initially, it would fly and if no one objects, it would not be thrown out by a probate judge on the court's own motion.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

I'm not a lawyer and am only offering my opinion as a reader who found this scenario interesting.

My first thought was of how that would be feasible for the caretakers. From a believability standpoint, I would want to understand their motivations for exactly why they would agree to something like this.

(Forgive me for having a what-if sort of mind.) What if one of the caretakers was sick during their appointed week or a family member was sick? Do they have to fly out anyway even if their child or spouse is in the hospital? Is there no backup in place? What if one of their children is graduating or getting married, or something that would hurt their family if they couldn't be there? If mom is only expected to live 4 months or so, it's perhaps a workable arrangement. If she's in good enough health that it could be a year or more, it would put a lot of strain on many families--something more easily handled if she was moved to live close to or with one of her children.

Then there's the question of cost and whether expenses would come from the estate. If she has 10 children, maybe it's not so hard to take time off and fly out. If she has 4 children, they'd have to take 2 weeks off work out of every 8, pay for airfare... it could get difficult. Most people aren't allotted that much vacation time for work--if there are 4 children, it would mean 25% of their lives spent away from home. What if their boss said they couldn't go without getting fired? Should the teacher who can't miss that much class time be penalized over the homemaker who doesn't have as much on their plate?

Of course many things can be made workable in fiction... just a few logistics to consider when you map it out. This is the reason many adult children are forced to relocate their parent to a supported living situation close to their home so that they can visit frequently, but they can still go to work, tend to emergencies, etc, knowing that the parent will have someone there. It would be an impossible situation if you're in the middle of your two-week stint in Kansas and your own daughter was in a car accident back in California--perhaps fighting for her life.

Not A Lawyer, but aside from the legal stuff, that's just awful! How can you ask people to just drop everything and move in with Mama for a couple of weeks, then shove off for a few weeks and return (depending on number of siblings: one nephew and at least two nieces means this could be every other month)? Depending on her health, this could go on for years.
And, the biggie, the will-writer wants them to look after their mother 'with love'. In fact, what he's proposing is to buy their services.
"Look after your Mother in a way I deem satisfactory, or you lose the money". This seems to be more about the will-writer's end-of-life fantasies, and a desire to force people to act them out, than anything else. You can demand obedience with threats, but you can't demand love.
What happens if the nieces and nephews just shrug, refuse the money and go about their lives? If they wanted and were able to look after their mother, presumably they would be doing it now, without the bribes.

Oh, geez:

My sister may not be moved from the family home.

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I'm objecting to even READING these words as part of a will, regardless of whether a judge would think this is okay.

And what frimble3 said.

This is craziness. People set up trust funds for situations like this, and with the funds, have certified caregivers and medical personnel oversee the person's care, whether that is done at home or in a medical/rest home/assisted living facility.

The days of controlling people from the grave is over; well at least when it comes to situations like this.

jaksen said:

This is craziness. People set up trust funds for situations like this, and with the funds, have certified caregivers and medical personnel oversee the person's care, whether that is done at home or in a medical/rest home/assisted living facility.

The days of controlling people from the grave is over; well at least when it comes to situations like this.

Click to expand...

Luckily it's fiction, and not (or so I deduce) altogether in our time period, which means the craziness can reign on unchecked if the author likes.

What's worth noting though, is that this is getting some very negative reactions from readers--which means that it might not be well received if presented in any positive light in the novel. If all the friends, family, etc., are horrified at the proposition likewise, many readers will readily agree and sympathize with them.

It would have to be a huge estate. I mean it would have to be enough to support all the children, and the sister. Besides that, the guy seems delusional. I don't see how anyone would think that life was better than, say, moving in with one of her grown children's family and ending her life surrounded by her grandchildren. The will as written would keep the kids from ever leading a normal life. I mean if they got a job offer somewhere else they couldn't take it. Or if their wife got a job offer elsewhere it would be choose between the inheritance and their spouse.

I can't imagine that they wouldn't go to court to get the coercive parts of the will thrown out. "Well judge, I would like to be able to move and take this job that pays double my current salary, but my uncle's will only provides for my mother's support if she stays in the family home. My wife and I would like her to come live with us. That way she has someone there 24 hours a day and can know her grandchildren. I don't want to cut my siblings out, or obligate them to visit every two weeks. So we are petitioning to have will thrown out."

Another thing to consider, even from a fictional perspective, is that a revolving-door routine is not good for most people, and especially not for the ill and the elderly. They need stability, and while switching caregivers every two weeks has been done before, in the long term, it's a recipe for disaster.

Maybe swallowed in fiction on the face of it, but I spent years administering estates and in real life I fear this Will would be generating Lawyer's and Opinion of Counsel fees from day one.