A Florida Court has recently had to contend with issues surrounding a Will that was executed in Argentina by an Argentine citizen. The Will was valid in Argentina but Florida law disallowed it. The document that was created in Argentina was considered a nuncupative Will because the person that executed it dictated the Will orally to an Argentine notary who then transcribed the Will in the presence of three witnesses. Florida law currently bars nuncupative Wills, but the law does not clearly define what is a nuncupative thus leaving the interpretation open to courts. “The court relied on an outside treatise that defined a notarial will as an orally declared will that is put in writing by a notary, then signed by the person writing the will, witness, and a notary.” In this case the testator did not sign the Will.
See Tom Nawrocki, When foreign wills become a problem, Life Health Pro, October 29, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
