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Select a Topic Arbitration Car Accident Boat Accident Banking Bus. Bankruptcy Bankruptcy Business Child Custody ADA Collection Internet Construction Lemon Contract Trademark Criminal (Federal) Criminal Divorce DUI/DWI Education Elder Employment Environmental Estate Planning General Practice Nursing Home Immigration Insurance Juvenile Landlord Tenant Legal Malpractice Libel And Slander Litigation Med. Malpractice Mesothelioma Military Patent Personal Injury Product Liability Railroad Accident Real Estate Securities Sexual Harassment Small Claims Social Sec./Disability Entertainment Tax Wills & Probate Worker Comp Wrongful Death Zoning Other Topics         Select a State AK - Alaska AL - Alabama AR - Arkansas AZ - Arizona CA - California CO - Colorado CT - Connecticut DC - District of Columbia DE - Delaware FL - Florida GA - Georgia HI - Hawaii IA - Iowa ID - Idaho IL - Illinois IN - Indiana KS - Kansas KY - Kentucky LA - Louisiana MA - Massachusetts MD - Maryland ME - Maine MI - Michigan MN - Minnesota MO - Missouri MS - Mississippi MT - Montana NE - Nebraska NC - North Carolina ND - North Datoka NH - New Hampshire NJ - New Jersey NM - New Mexico NV - Nevada NY - New York OH - Ohio OK - Oklahoma OR - Oregon PA - Pennsylvania PR - Puerto Rico RI - Rhode Island SC - South Carolina SD - South Dakota TN - Tennessee TX - Texas UT - Utah VA - Virginia VI - US Virgin Islands VT - Vermont WA - Washington WI - Wisconsin WV - West Virginia WY - Wyoming Find a Lawyer Home » Law »  Estate Planning » Wills Browse Estate Planning Estate Planning Home Page Resources Wills Attorneys Wills Law Forum Prepare a Will Online at Lawyer-Free Prices Articles & FAQs    Asset Protection    Elder Law    Estates Legalese    Estate Planning    Probate    Trusts »Wills      General Questions      Administrator or executor      Changes      Competency      Contesting or challenging      Death bed      Disinheriting family      Divorce      Do-it-yourself      Dying without      Guardian      Handwritten      Legal help      Life Insurance proceeds      Living will      Lost      Moving from state to state      Need for      Revocation      Probate      Simple will: Example      Taxes      Types      What to put in      Word-of-mouth      Texas Wills Estate Planning - Wills Center Estate Planning - Wills Information General Questions What is a ‘will’? Is it the same as a ‘last will and testament’? Who should have a will? Does a will cover all my property? What is probate? What can happen if I do not have a will? When should a will be prepared and signed? Why not wait until I am very ill? I want to update my will. How do I go about it? Are ‘death-bed wills’ valid? What is a ‘holographic’ last will and testament? Is an ‘oral will’ valid? Should I write my own will? What about form books and computer programs? What about books on estate planning? What about software programs? What about ‘fill-in the blanks’ forms? What is a ‘pour-over will?’ How much should it cost me to have a lawyer prepare a will or a trust for me? Does it make sense to use an attorney? Is it expensive? How long is a will valid? What is the difference between a will and a trust? What are self-probating wills? What is the effect of a divorce on a will? Suppose a person is mentally competent at the time of making a will but subsequently loses it. Is the will still good? What is the effect of senility on a will's validity? What is a ‘living will’? What effect does moving to a different state have on a will? If I have a living will, would I also need a real ‘will’ or a ‘living trust’? Can I disinherit my spouse? Can a parent disinherit a child? What reasons are there to change or update a will? How can I revoke a will? What are will contests? Suppose that I am afraid someone might challenge my will. How can I ‘bullet proof’ it? My brother who was left out of dad's will is challenging it. We want to settle before more anger, nastiness, and resentment sets in. What can be expected in a settlement? My brother was intentionally left out of dad's will because of some past happenings. Now with our dad's death, he is going to contest the will. What's going to happen? When should a last will and testament nominate a guardian and what role does a guardian play with respect to minor children? What role does the personal representative play under a will? What does a will usually contain? Can a will reduce estate taxes? Does a will change named beneficiaries for life insurance policies, pensions, and similar accounts? I was told by my accountant to exclude my grandchildren from my will because they would be subject to a generation-skipping transfer tax. Was my accountant correct? The bank holding my deceased mom's cd will not distribute the funds to her estate without her will being probated. Can the bank require my family to go through that process? I owed a debt to a friend of mine who recently died. Do I still owe the money to the heirs, even though my friend died without a will? Administrator or executor What role does the personal representative play under a will? What should I keep in mind when I select the executor of my will? My father just died and out of nowhere my youngest brother pops up with a will naming him as personal representative. Though it appears the will was drawn up by an attorney, there are a number of errors, such as reference to a nonexistent brother and the repeated use of my father's name with the wrong middle initial. Is there any way we can have challenge the validity of this will? My wife and I moved many years ago from the state we drew our wills and in the process lost track of our designated executrix. We need to update our wills, to show our new address and to appoint a new executrix. Should we draw up new wills or can we amend the prior wills through a notary? My parents changed their will to appoint me as executor, rather than having my sister who is now seething. Can you have two or three co-executors of a will? Changes What reasons are there to change or update a will? I want to update my will. How do I go about it? When I was married to my ex, our wills listed our children to receive our life insurance. Now I have remarried but have not changed my original will. If anything happens to me, would my ex and his kids reap the benefits of the life insurance money? My parents changed their will to appoint me as executor, rather than having my sister who is now seething. Can you have two or three co-executors of a will? Competency What is the effect of senility on a will's validity? Suppose a person is mentally competent at the time of making a will but subsequently loses it. Is the will still good? Contesting or challenging What if someone objects to the will? What are will contests? What is the basis for a will contest? Suppose that I am afraid someone might challenge my will. How can I ‘bullet proof’ it? What do saavy attorneys suggest putting in a will when someone will receive nothing? My brother who was left out of dad's will is challenging it. We want to settle before more anger, nastiness, and resentment sets in. What can be expected in a settlement? My brother was intentionally left out of dad's will because of some past happenings. Now with our dad's death, he is going to contest the will. What's going to happen? My father just died and out of nowhere my youngest brother pops up with a will naming him as personal representative. Though it appears the will was drawn up by an attorney, there are a number of errors, such as reference to a nonexistent brother and the repeated use of my father's name with the wrong middle initial. Is there any way we can have challenge the validity of this will? My father is very angry about the terms of the trust my grandparents established and is planning on contesting. There is no contest clause in the trust. Don't you need some valid reasons to contest a trust? Death bed Are ‘death-bed wills’ valid? Disinheriting family Can a parent disinherit a child? Can I disinherit my spouse? What do saavy attorneys suggest putting in a will when someone will receive nothing? My brother who was left out of dad's will is challenging it. We want to settle before more anger, nastiness, and resentment sets in. What can be expected in a settlement? My brother was intentionally left out of dad's will because of some past happenings. Now with our dad's death, he is going to contest the will. What's going to happen? Divorce What is the effect of a divorce on a will? Do-it-yourself Who should have an estate plan? Should I write my own will? What about form books and computer programs? What about books on estate planning? What about ‘fill-in the blanks’ forms? My boyfriend's mom was included in a will but the person's will was done on the computer and some parts of the will were omitted, as for example, only one witness space was provided. The will was notorized and signed by one witness. Probate disallowed the will and my boyfriend's mom is not going to get what she is suppose to. What can she do? Dying without What if there is no will? What can happen if I do not have a will? A very ill uncle with a potful of money and assets and two adult children does not believe in wills. What will happen when he dies? Mom died without a will and we (nine of us) want to protect her assets. What can we do to prevent the assets from being sold or going to court? My husband will not write a will. The home is in his name; he is involved in a family ranching corporation. We also have a 30-year old son. He tells me that the house and the corporation's stock in his name automatically goes to me when he dies. Is he right? I owed a debt to a friend of mine who recently died. Do I still owe the money to the heirs, even though my friend died without a will? Guardian When should a last will and testament nominate a guardian and what role does a guardian play with respect to minor children? Handwritten What is a ‘holographic’ last will and testament? Legal help Does it make sense to use an attorney? Is it expensive? How much should it cost me to have a lawyer prepare a will or a trust for me? Life Insurance proceeds When I was married to my ex, our wills listed our children to receive our life insurance. Now I have remarried but have not changed my original will. If anything happens to me, would my ex and his kids reap the benefits of the life insurance money? Living will What is a ‘living will’? Which is better: a living will or a durable power of attorney for health care? What happens if there is no living will or durable power of attorney? I don’t want to be kept alive if I am in a ‘vegetative’ condition or with irreversible brain damage. Can I use a living will to state my desires? Is a living will different from a ‘living trust’? If I have a living will, would I also need a real ‘will’ or a ‘living trust’? Will paramedics follow my living will if they are called to my home? Lost What happens if a will cannot be found? My deceased aunt had a copy of her original will from a law firm that executed her will. The law firm now states that they only had a draft; however, our copy has two witnesses signatures, my aunt's signature, the notary's public signature and the law firm's business stamp. Moreover, we are told that the copy is invalid and there is no will and the original cannot be found. Thus, the probate court will decide who the estate will go to. What can we do to ensure that my aunt's will is carried out as she requested? I am the heir to my father's estate, since he allegedly died without a will. However, a family member has a photocopy of a will that they want to submit to probate. This ‘will’ leaves nothing to me. The original will cannot be located. Should I consent to admission of my father's photocopy? If I don't sign the form, can it be submitted anyway? Moving from state to state What effect does moving to a different state have on a will? My wife and I moved many years ago from the state we drew our wills and in the process lost track of our designated executrix. We need to update our wills, to show our new address and to appoint a new executrix. Should we draw up new wills or can we amend the prior wills through a notary? Need for What is a ‘will’? Is it the same as a ‘last will and testament’? Does a will cover all my property? Who should have a will? Why not wait until I am very ill? When should a will be prepared and signed? Can a will reduce estate taxes? Revocation How can I revoke a will? Probate What is probate? Do we have to go through probate if there is a will? Why can't we just distribute the assets as the will says? Who is responsible for handling the probate process? What are the main duties of a personal representative? What goes on in the probate of an uncontested will? The bank holding my deceased mom's cd will not distribute the funds to her estate without her will being probated. Can the bank require my family to go through that process? Simple will: Example Sample of simple will Taxes Can a will reduce estate taxes? I was told by my accountant to exclude my grandchildren from my will because they would be subject to a generation-skipping transfer tax. Was my accountant correct? Types Should I write my own will? Is an ‘oral will’ valid? What is a ‘pour-over will?’ Are ‘death-bed wills’ valid? What is a ‘holographic’ last will and testament? What are self-probating wills? What is a ‘living will’? What to put in What does a will usually contain? What reasons are there to change or update a will? Word-of-mouth Is an ‘oral will’ valid? Estate Planning - Wills State Specific Texas Wills Wills in Texas Get Legal Forms Download 36,000+ forms Law Forums Search over 600,000 topics and answers in our law forums.

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