Themis Essay 5749

Question 1

For a person to dispose of their estate by will in Virginia, the person must

Answer 1

(i) be at least 18 years old, and (ii) possess the requisite mental capacity.

Question 2

A holographic will is valid under Virginia law if:

Answer 2

(i) the document is wholly written in the testator’s handwriting, (ii) it manifests the testator’s intent of making a last and final disposition of her property, and (iii) it is signed on its face by the testator.

Question 3

There are no rules regarding exactly how a testator must sign a holographic will, only that

Answer 3

the document is signed in such a way as to show the person intended it to constitute a signature.

Question 4

For a holographic will to be held valid by a court,

Answer 4

two disinterested witnesses must be able to identify the handwriting as that of the testator.

Question 5

A testator may revoke their will at

Answer 5

any time prior to death.

Question 6

In Virginia, a testator who intends to completely revoke their will may do so by either:

Answer 6

(i) properly executing a later writing, or (ii) by a physical act which destroys the instrument.

Question 7

A codicil is

Answer 7

an amendment to a prior will and must be executed with the same formalities as a will.

Question 8

Under Virginia law, if a testator revokes her only will, the testator can

Answer 8

revive that will by executing a codicil to it, which has the effect of republishing and re-executing the will.

Question 9

A testator’s intent to revive a will must be

Answer 9

established for a revoked will to be held validly revived by a court.

Question 10

A valid will governs the

Answer 10

disposition of a testator’s property.

Question 11

A person must survive the decedent in order to

Answer 11

inherit as an heir through intestacy or as a beneficiary under a will.

Question 12

If a beneficiary predeceases the testator, and the deceased beneficiary is a grandparent or a descendant of the testator’s grandparent,

Answer 12

the Virginia anti-lapse statute applies, allowing the deceased beneficiary’s descendants who survive the testator to take the gift in the deceased beneficiary’s place.

Question 13

When a gift to a deceased beneficiary lapses

Answer 13

it becomes part of the residuary estate.

Question 14

If the will does not contain a residuary clause and fails to make a complete disposition of the testator’s property,

Answer 14

then the laws of intestacy control who inherits the lapsed residuary gifts.

Question 15

In Virginia, if the decedent has surviving children, but no surviving spouse, then

Answer 15

the children take the intestate property in equal shares.