Blog & Resources

At Klenk Law we are often asked to incorporate our client’s religious principles into their estate plan. Recently we have noticed a significant increase of inquiries regarding Sharia Compliant Wills, which is an excellent topic for discussion.

I am a resident of Gloucester County, New Jersey. If I have recently formed a Revocable Living Trust and moved all my New Jersey assets into the trust, do I still need a will?

If the goal in forming your Revocable Living Trust was to avoid probate, then you must either transfer all your assets that would otherwise be Probate Assets into the trust during your lifetime or have them pour into the Revocable Trust at your death. That is often done by using a Payable on Death Account or naming the Trust as Beneficiary.

The Montgomery County Register of Wills cannot hold or file your Will until after you have died. Your executor will go to the Register’s office in Norristown with the original Will, an original death certificate, an ID and a check. After verifying all is in order, the Register will then file the Will. There is no Pennsylvania procedure to hold Wills of the living.

If you are like most Philadelphians, you are provided the option of participating in a qualified plan program, such as a 401k, 503(b) or TIAA-CREF program. Otherwise, you may have an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or a Roth-IRA that you have formed and funded yourself. These plans are designed to hold assets tax deferred and earmarked for retirement but, with the exception of a ROTH-IRA, when the funds are removed, the deferred income taxes come due.

Most states require that at the time you sign your will you have two witnesses who sign under your name. These are known as “Subscribing Witnesses”. Pennsylvania is an exception to this common practice. In Pennsylvania, you need no Subscribing Witness when you sign your will.

Montgomery County probate clients sometimes believe that after filing the original Will with the Montgomery County Register of Wills, the Register will return to them the original document. Usually, this is because they have the experience of filing deeds with the Montgomery County Register of Deeds. After a deed is filed, it traditionally is mailed back to the buyer who may keep the original.

The Philadelphia Register of Wills office is tasked with probating the wills of deceased, Philadelphia residents. Probate is the process by which the will of a deceased Philadelphian is judged by the Register to be valid or invalid.

All wills filed with the Philadelphia Register of Wills are public records. The Philadelphia Register of Wills has records going back to 1924, and all records in the Philadelphia Register of Wills office are open and available to the public.