Expedite your overseas shipments

When sending a Fedex shipment overseas which consists of legal paperwork, be sure to select the option which indicates that the shipment contains documents. Doing this will help the package clear customs in the foreign country more quickly than it would otherwise.

Remove compound constructions

Dianne Rosky of Rosky Legal Education recommends avoiding using the following compound constructions, and instead using single words which state points made in a brief more concisely. After cite checking a brief, search for the phrases listed on the left, and replace them with the words on the right. Attorneys will appreciate seeing these corrections in track changes, even if writing concisely does not come naturally to them. If they don't recall an English teacher's admonition to write succinctly, they will like getting help coming in under a court's word or page count limit.

at this/that point in time ------------------------------ now / then

in connection with ------------------------------ about / concerning

in order to ------------------------------ to

in the event that ------------------------------ if

in many instances/cases ------------------------------ often

in most instances/cases ------------------------------ usually

prior to ------------------------------ before

subsequent to ------------------------------ after

the fact that ------------------------------ that

due to the fact that ------------------------------ because

the situation where ------------------------------ where

the situation in which ------------------------------ where

the question whether ------------------------------ whether

with reference to ------------------------------ about / concerning

Things to Keep In Mind When Notarizing a Will in New York State

Here's a non-exhaustive list of things you should keep in mind when notarizing a will in New York State:

1. The testator and the witnesses should sign the will in the presence of the notary.

2. The notary public should review the personal identification of the testator and the witnesses.

3. The notary public should not give any advice to the testator about the actual execution of the will.

4. A will can be legal in New York State even if it is not notarized.

5. A notarized will be self-proving. The court will not have to contact the witnesses in order to confirm the validity of the will.

6. The witnesses must sign within 30 days of one another.

Also note, that New York State requires two witnesses to the signing of will. The addresses of the witnesses must be listed in the will.