By Tim Barkley. October 2025.
Q: My will and powers of attorney are 30 years old. Do they need to be redrafted?
A: Your documents don’t need to be redrafted just because of their age, but their might be other changes to the law, terminology, technology or societal expectations to warrant a redrafting. For example, 30 years ago when I was a young lawyer in Mount Airy, people were worried about being “let go” from this life too soon “because the hospital needed the bed.” Now they have the opposite concern, so medical directives might need to be redrafted. Thirty years ago, nobody had online access to accounts or virtual assets like Facebook accounts, but now almost everyone does, and your powers of attorney need to address these issues. Even if you don’t use online access, your child who is paying your bills under your power of attorney probably does use online access to his or her own accounts and would use it to take care of your affairs. The little tykes you found a babysitter for when you had your will drafted in the 1990’s are now providing child care for their own grandchildren. And if your sister who you named as executor is deceased or declining or has dementia, you probably need to update your documents.
Q: My will and power of attorney name my child as executor and agent. My child has moved out of state. Can they still serve in those capacities?
A: Yes. Oddly enough, the only time I’ve ever heard anyone raise this issue is when they are giving me the addresses of their agents and executors. One client recently did relate that he had moved since his mother drafted her will and he had to present his MVA change of address card to the bank to prove the address change.
Q: My daughter was named in my will, and she has since divorced and resumed her maiden name. Do I need to update my will?
A: No. If it ever becomes an issue, she just needs to be prepared to present documentation, usually a copy of the divorce decree.
Q: My will was witnessed by my attorney and his secretary. He has passed away. Do I need a new will with living witnesses?
A: No, but if your will is contested it can be hard to produce a deceased witness to testify as to the valid execution of your will. If your will has a “self-proving affidavit,” that can simplify the defense of your will but is not conclusive. A “self-proving affidavit” is a paragraph after the signature of yourself and the witnesses that recites that you and the witnesses did in fact sign and witness your will in the legally-mandated fashion, that is then signed by you and them and notarized – so you and they would have signed your will twice, once to the will itself and once to the affidavit. If you don’t have the affidavit, or even if you do, if you are concerned that your will might be contested, you should consider redrafting your will.
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Attorney Tim Barkley
The Tim Barkley Law Offices
One Park Avenue
P.O. Box 1136
Mount Airy
Maryland 21771
(301) 829-3778
Wills & Trusts | Estate Planning | Probates & Estates
Elder Law | Real Estate | Business Planning