Keeping things confidential in New York wills

by | Mar 4, 2015 | Wills |

Just as there are many varieties of people living in New York, there are also many kinds of wills. Indeed, each will needs to be carefully drafted in a fashion that suits the situation of individual it serves. Sometimes, these situations are private and cover delicate and confidential matters. For example, what should a New York resident do while drafting a will if the will-planner has children that his or her spouse does not know about?

If you have a child that your wife or husband is unaware of, then your estate planning attorney will treat it as a confidential issue that must be kept a secret. In such instances, the estate planner will want to retain a different attorney from the attorney of his or her spouse for the purposes of drafting the estate plan. In fact, it would be unethical for an attorney to represent both you and your spouse if the lawyer needed to keep a secret like this.

Another thing to consider if you have a secret child is that you will want to mention the child in your will. In fact, the child should be referenced even if the estate planner does not intend for the child to inherit anything. Finally, even though this document can be kept secret, in the event of your death, your estate’s executor will have access it. For this reason, individuals may want to choose their executors carefully if they want their secret to be preserved after death.

At Weinstein Randisi, we are committed to the confidentiality of our clients’ information. We have encountered many situations where a New York resident wants to keep an item in his or her estate plan completely confidential, not just cases involving children from a previous marriage or relationship. If you have a question about drafting your will and keeping certain information private, we can help.