Wills

Thinking of a Will as a letter of intent may make it easier to draft your plan. Any mentally competent adult can make a will. It must be signed, dated and witnessed by at least two (and in some states, three) people. The witnesses may not be beneficiaries under the Will. Audit or videotaping your wishes alone is not sufficient.

Because it is easy to make a mistake, you should hire an attorney for assistance. Otherwise, the handling of your estate may be more complicated and costly than it needed to be, incurring taxes that could have been avoided.

Typically, a Will
(1) sets out how you want your property to be distributed upon your death;
(2) provides for custody of minor children;
(3) enables special provisions for disabled adult children; and
4) names an executor—the person you would want to carry out your wishes as expressed in the Will.

Many people have trouble deciding how to distribute items of personal property and never complete a Will. To avoid the problem, you might specify the percentages of the value of your estate you wish each person to receive. A simple, non-binding letter of instruction to the executor that is easy to update may be the best solution for items with no major monetary value.

Not all assets pass through a Will. Any assets that you own jointly with another person who has right of survivorship will transfer automatically to that individual.

Similarly, life insurance, many annuities, and retirement plan assets can pass by beneficiary designation, avoiding the need for probate.

Even if most of your assets are held jointly or would pass by beneficiary designation, a Will is still useful. If, for example, the other joint owner or the beneficiary passes away first, a Will can be written to cover such circumstances. State laws govern the disposition of your assets in the absence of a Will and failure to designate a trustee can lead to family fights.

You can and should change your Will if circumstances in your life change. If, for example, the person named to inherit a portion of your estate dies before you, you should rewrite your Will, and specify that the new Will revokes all pre-existing documents. Never try to change a Will with handwritten changes, such as cross outs or notations, then initialing and dating the changes. A court will not recognize these changes.

Be sure to tell your named executor where you keep your Will. Safe places for important documents include your attorney’s safe deposit box or the probate court in your county. Don’t keep your Will at home, where it may get lost or destroyed. Your personal safe deposit box is not a good place if your state laws forbid anyone to enter a vault after a person’s death without a court order. This can add to expense and delay probate.

Contact Michael E. Doyel for more information on preparing your will