12.22.09
Dispatches from Probate Court
An email from our exalted local probate judge. Summary: Get your paws off that will . . . until the guy dies.
There have been extensive discussions among the Probate Registers as to whom may a Register disclose the existence and contents of a will filed for safekeeping with the Probate Court. Since there was a split of opinion among the Registers on how this question should be resolved, the Probate Judges decided to resolve the issue. Judge Murkowski of Kent County reviewed the matter.
His summary basically states that when a will is filed for safekeeping under Section 2515 of EPIC, the filing is NON PUBLIC. The Court receives the will in sealed form and can return the sealed will to the testator or designee during the lifetime of the testator. The will is never unsealed until the death of the testator. A court may not reveal to ANYONE whether a will is filed for safekeeping with the court, and because the will is sealed cannot reveal the contents of that will. The proper response to an inquiry whether a will is filed with the Court is “no public record exists.” A conservator cannot view a will filed for safekeeping. A conservator may examine a protected person’s will from a source other than a will deposited with the Probate Court. When a designee presents to the court the notarized authorization to retrieve the sealed will from safekeeping, the designee should produce picture ID that is photocopied, attached to the authorization form and retained by the court.
Once a testator has died and the Probate Court has proof of the death, the will can be unsealed and photocopies given to anyone for a fee.
