Many people aren’t aware of the number of contracts that apply to them every day. Like all contracts, there are at least two parties to any given contract: Your bank account was opened by signing a contract under the bank’s terms; your attendance at the Yankee game is contingent on you following the 2 point font contractual terms on the back of the ticket; the credit card receipt you signed to pay for lunch today is a contract; even the US Constitution is a contract between “we the people” and the US government (though many would say one party is gravely in breach of their end of the bargain, but that is for someone else’s blog to address).
Your Last Will and Testament is also a contract between you and the state in which you pass away. Yes, you draft your will when you are alive, but it is not effective until you pass away and someone offers it to the Surrogate’s Court. This is why you can move to another state and still have a valid will drafted in the prior state: due to the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the US Constitution, your will merely needs to be valid in the original state of execution.
Your Executor swears to the court in a document called an Oath and Designation to uphold his fiduciary duty over the estate, effectively signing a contract with the county of Probate stating that he will complete the process.
Your closest family members are then given the right to consent to the probate by signing a waiver which states they shall not contest the proceeding. Though in New York, signing is optional, since they can merely be told they have to show up at court on a certain day if they refuse to sign the waiver.
Lastly, beneficiaries sign Receipt and Releases with the Executor when they receive money, which state that they are satisfied with the Executor’s work and will repay any money the estate may owe due to missed creditors.
In summation: Your will is a contract, your executor signs several contracts throughout the Probate process, and your beneficiaries and family members sign contracts consenting to the probate process and final distribution of money.
Q FOR U: Did you sign a contract today? (The answer is almost certainly yes)
