Tips To Finalize Your Will Safely

Braille Institute has been excited about sharing with you our partnership with FreeWill.  We have enjoyed the opportunity to provide our donors and friends with a free, online resource that can help you write your will online.

Writing a will is the first step you need to take in order to make a lasting commitment to the people and organizations that matter to you the most. And with FreeWill, you can complete the task in 20 minutes or less for free.

However, just writing your will isn’t enough to make it legal. Wills generally need to be signed by the will-maker with two in-person witnesses. With the COVID-19 Pandemic still impacting us all, getting your will legalized is a little more complicated. Below, find a couple of ideas to help you get your will completed safely.

  1. Turn to healthy neighbors to conduct an in-person witnessing while taking important safety precautions. You can do this by conducting the witness and signing outside, taking a rapid test beforehand, wearing a mask, and maintaining social distancing while signing.
  2. In some states (including California), wills written entirely by hand are valid without a witness. You can use the will created on FreeWill, copy it by hand, and sign and date it. (To avoid any confusion, do not copy the parts of your will that refer to witnesses).

If you are looking for additional information about ways to legalize your estate planning documents during the pandemic, please read this article.

And if you are ready to begin your plans, get started on your will with FreeWill today.

Questions? Please contact:

Cindy Chan
cchan@brailleinstitute.org
323-906-3172