Back again with more thoughts on Estate Planning
after completing your divorce.
First, a quick thank you to Dennis who had a great question in response
to my Changes blog last week.
Basically, how can unmarried couples, and I would presume long term and
committed relationships, that simply don’t care about marriage, deal with these
same issues, separately, but together.
Check my response to Dennis in the Changes blog. That said, this week we deal with one
tool good for everyone, a Will.
Let’s get very clear up front. Nothing says you must have a Will or
Estate Plan. If you have virtually
nothing, or nobody, who cares if you have a Will. However, if you have people and stuff, you should consider
having a Will. Every state has its
own rules and process for people who die without a Will. If you die without a Will, you are
deemed to have passed “intestate” or, without a Will. The law provides for the accumulation of your assets and debts,
a satisfaction of your debts and the passing of your remaining stuff to your
blood relatives. This is done
through the court Probate process.
If you are OK with that, then you don’t need a Will. Understand that the law also provides
for court approved fees for attorneys, so everyone gets a piece. Having a Will does not always by pass
Probate, and there are certain instances where your heirs should elect to
Probate your estate, but a Will gives them the first tool necessary to follow
your direction, pass along benefits and dispose of your stuff as you wanted.
What is a Will? We were taught in law school that a Will is essentially your
voice from beyond the grave, telling your survivors and heirs what you want to
do with your stuff and to help conserve your stuff for your family, and
hopefully not the government. A
Will is generally defined as a document by which a person directs the
disposition of his or her property, which takes effect after that persons death,
and for the legal folk in the crowd, a Will is also ambulatory and revocable
during your lifetime, meaning, you can change your Will as long as you
live. What else does a Will
do? It can create the complete
list of your property and a complete list of your family, heirs or
beneficiaries.
In most instances, the average person will need only
a Simple Will. Of the various
types of Wills, I will spend the rest of this blog, discussing only Simple
Wills. A Simple Will describes who
you are, with enough information to identify you, and that this is your
Will. It will also identify your
beneficiaries, whether that is family, friends, charities or other. The Will generally appoints one or more
Executors, being the people that you trust to be legally responsible for making
sure your directions are followed.
The Executor is also frequently called your Personal Representative and
there are frequently multiple or sequential representatives identified. And finally, your wishes.
Pretty simple, right? In the future, we will discuss other Wills, such as Joint
Wills, Mutual Wills, Holographic Wills (no not a 3-D Will, how cool would that
be) and Nuncupative Wills. Don’t
you just love the cliffhanger!
In the blogs that follow, I will begin to address in
greater detail each of the major parts of a Simple Will, which also applies to
most every other type of Will. However, if you have any questions, feel free to
respond below, or if you are interested in learning more about an Estate Plan,
Wills, Trusts, Advanced Healthcare Directives, or Divorce, Custody, Visitation,
Child Support, Spousal Support, Property Division, Modifications, Remarriage,
or Pre-Nuptial Agreements, please contact me at http://www.fcbegun.com/, fbegun@gmail.com or at http://www.linkedin.com for Fred Begun.
No comments:
Post a Comment