Will a court deem a will invalid if it contains the wrong middle initial?
Transcript:
I'm Jordan Flake, Managing Partner of Clare Counsel Law Group. One of the questions we get is, "I had a lawyer file probate for my mother and they didn't include the middle initial in her name. Does that matter?" Basically, when you file a probate, the question is ... You get authority from the court to perform certain tasks on behalf of the estate. The reality is, if the bank ... let's say your mother passed away and she had a bank account or she had a home ... If the bank or the county, where the property is located, recognizes the individual who's listed in the order, then you're not going to have a problem if there's a minor typo.
Oftentimes we will list out an individual's name, other names that they go by, initials, different titles, that go along with them because we find that individuals have assets titled in many different ways. That's the safest way possible to make sure that you don't run into a problem with the bank or with the county, in terms of making sure the property gets transferred properly.
