Who Needs a Will?
By Kristi Vaughan
Think wills are only for the rich and powerful? Not so. If you have any assets at all – house, car, stocks, certificates of deposit, etc. – not having a will means not having a voice in what happens to those assets after you die.
This isn’t to say that you need an elaborate or complicated document. Or even that you need to have it drawn up by a lawyer. But you do need something. And it has to follow a few key guidelines.
Will basics
A will is the legal document that says how you want property that you own disposed of after your death. If you have children, it also can say who you want to care for those children and who should oversee the management of any assets earmarked for your children.
If you die without a will you are considered to have died intestate, and the laws of the state where the assets are located will determine their disposal. A quick note here: there are a number of unfamiliar terms used when talking about wills. For definitions, see below.
State, not federal, law governs the requirements of basic wills. Check with your state’s judicial branch or an estate lawyer, to see if there are any specifics for where you live.
At the very least, you will need:
- A written document
- Your signature on the document (or the signature of someone who can legally act in your behalf)
- The signature of two or more witnesses verifying that the document is your request
What to include
The most basic of wills include broad statements about how property is to be dispersed. For example you might simply state that all property is to be divided equally among your children.
You can only include property that belongs to you but, if you have special desires, for example that your grandmother’s ruby necklace go to your oldest daughter, you might want to include that as well to avoid any confusion or dispute.
Lawyer or not?
As long as it meets state requirements, a will does not have to be drawn up by a lawyer to be legal. There are many software programs and services that exist for preparing basic wills. Any Internet search engine should help you locate them.
Where to keep the will
You should keep the signed copy of the will in a safe place. Often this is a safe deposit box at your bank that is rented jointly with another family member (if the box is your name alone it will take a court order to get it opened).
Other possibilities include leaving the will with your attorney, bank or trust company or, if the state allows, with the probate court clerk.
Keep your will up-to-date
Life changes and so should your will. Your children may have grown up, you may have gotten divorced or you may have come into a lot of money. These, and more, are all good reasons to modify your will to better reflect current circumstances. Many estate lawyers and planners recommend reviewing your will every three to five years.
And if you do make changes, make sure that the new will specifies that it supercedes the previous will and include the date of that previous will.
Do you need a more elaborate will?
If you have significant assets, or life events have given you those assets, you might need more than a basic will.
The normal recommendation is that you consider a more elaborate will – probably drawn up by a lawyer -- under such circumstances as:
- You expect to owe estate tax
- You want to maintain control over what happens to your property after your death, for example, through a trust
- You have a dependent child with special needs
- You have children from a prior marriage
- You think someone might contest your will
Definitions:
- Administrator: a person the court appoints to administer the estate
- Estate/inheritance/death taxes: these are taxes imposed at the state and federal levels on property that is transferred to other people at the time of death
- Executor/executrix: the man, or woman you have named to administer your estate
- Intestate: when you die without a will and the state courts take over
- Minor/age of majority: children younger than 18 are considered minors. On their 18th birthday the reach the age of majority
- Probate: this is the process that wraps up a decease person’s legal affair.
- Testator/testatrix: the man, or woman, making the will
- Trusts: Legal devices for disposing of/ or managing property
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