The past few weeks have been very difficult for 39-year-old Ana Marie Hunnicutt. In that time frame,

Fantastic news! We've Found the answer you've been seeking!

Question:

The past few weeks have been very difficult for 39-year-old Ana Marie Hunnicutt. In that time frame, her father, Alvaro Rodriguez, a longtime resident of Yuma, Arizona, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and died. As her father's only immediate family member (Rodriguez's wife Izarra had passed away eight years ago), Hunnicutt is responsible for probating her father's estate. Early this morning, while going through the important papers her father had kept in an unlocked safe in his home office, Hunnicutt came across a paper entitled "Last Will and Testament of Alvaro Diego Rodriguez.

The document was dated September 1, 2013, and was written entirely in what appeared to be her father's handwriting, including his signature. In it, Rodriguez revoked all previous wills and willed all of his personal and real property, including all bank deposits, to the Border Network for Human Rights, a nonprofit humanitarian group dedicated to assisting Mexican immigrants and influencing United States immigration policy. The estate is worth $175,000. Hunnicutt is both perplexed and heartbroken.

Her father had always attended to her needs, and in a 2005 will (an original copy of which Hunnicutt had in her possession), he had left all of his estate to his daughter. The 2005 will had been prepared by a local attorney, witnessed by two friends of the Rodriguez family, and notarized by a local notary public.

1. Does Rodriguez's 2013 will take precedence over his 2005 will?

2. Does it matter that the 2005 will was executed with formalities, including the signatures of two witnesses and a notary public, and the 2013 will was not?

3. From an ethical and/or legal standpoint, is Hunnicutt obligated to honor the 2013 will, even though doing so means she will receive none of her father's estate?