|
|
Wills are documents that specify how your estate should be distributed after your death. This section explains the basics of wills and provides information about how to prepare wills, what should be included, and excluded, from your will, how to minimize confusion over your wishes and how to best provide for your spouse, children and pets.
Write Your Own Will, Use an Online Form Service or Hire an Attorney?
This article discusses the choices you have in writing your Will: do it yourself, use an online will service or hire an estate will attorney.
Planning For Your Pet’s Care When You Are Gone
To protect your pet, you must name in your will a person who is willing and able to take care of your pet when you die.
When There’s a Will, There’s a Way
A Will sets out how to distribute your property, provides for custody of your minor children, enables special provisions for disabled adult children and names an executor.
Relationship Between a Will and a Trust
People often get confused between Wills and Trusts because they know they both have something to do with giving your assets to other people, but these two documents, although sometimes related, are very different and serve different purposes.
Treatment of Stepchildren and Out-of-Wedlock Children in Your Will
This article discusses the disposition of property in your Will when you have stepchildren and out-of-wedlock children.
What if I No Longer Own What I’ve Willed?
Willing either something you no longer own or more property than you own can complicate settlement of your estate, and the rules for dealing with this situation vary widely from state to state.
Dividing Your Estate Among the Chosen Beneficiaries: Minimizing Confusion
It is essential to create a valid Will and or trust to minimize the possibility of confusion among your chosen beneficiaries.
Why not wait until I am very ill?
We all put things off until tomorrow, but in the case of a Will, procrastination can be disastrous and have major consequences. Every state has laws that determine where property ...
Should I write my own will?
That depends on several factors. If you have a large estate or a complicated one, you should at least get legal advice on estate planning [link] before you decide what ...
What is the difference between a will and a trust?
A Trust is a way of transferring your property to an artificial legal entity or "person" (the Trust) before your death, while still having the use and/or control of it ...
How long is a will valid?
In general a Will is valid until your death, but there are a few exceptions. If you were married at the time you made a Will and then later got ...
Can I disinherit my spouse and/or my child(ren)?
You can’t disinherit your spouse completely, unless you and your spouse have waived the right to be included in the other's estate in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement (agreements made ...
What does a will usually contain?
Some typical provisions of a Last Will and Testament include: (1) name of the testator (your name) (2) name of the testator's spouse and date of marriage, if any (3) ...
Can a will reduce estate taxes?
A Will alone usually doesn’t have much effect on estate taxes. There are several kinds of taxes that might apply to an estate or inheritance. There’s the Federal Estate Tax, ...
Does a will change named beneficiaries for life insurance policies, pensions, and similar accounts?
No. Each life insurance policy has a named beneficiary or beneficiaries. Bank accounts might have a pay-on-death instruction, and a pension plan like an IRA or a 401(k) usually has ...
My accountant told me not to leave money to my grandchildren because the tax would be too high. Was he correct?
That depends on the size of your estate. The generation-skipping transfer tax (GSTT) applies, on top of Federal Estate Tax, to certain amounts of money left to third-generation beneficiaries. So ...
How much should it cost me to have a lawyer prepare a will or a trust for me?
Asking how much a Will or Trust costs is much like asking how much a house costs. There is a wide range between a tiny cabin in rural Montana and ...
What is a will, and who should have one?
A Will is a written document, often prepared with the help of an attorney, which nominates Guardians for minor children, if any, names a Personal Representative (and often alternates as ...
Do we have to go through probate if there is a will?
Generally it is necessary to go through probate or, in the case of smaller estates, a less formal procedure that is still under the general supervision of the probate court, ...
Does Marriage Affect My Will?
Marriage is a life-altering event that forces you to make all kinds of changes. For one, you and your new spouse both should create new Wills. ...
Would a Trust Be Better Than a Will?
The question of whether a Trust be better than a Will? has no simple answer since so many factors must be considered in estate planning. (To learn about the differences ...
What is probate?
Probate is the process by which legal title of property is transferred from the decedent's estate to his/her beneficiaries. Since you can't take it with you, the court determines who ...
When should a will be prepared and signed?
If you have minor children you need to have a Will to name a guardian who will care for your children in case both parents are killed or incapacitated. If ...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FREE CASE REVIEW |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
State Law Center | Legal Links | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Media | About Us | Contact Us