The one who’s assets the “will” includes is the originator of the “will”. The goal of the will is to execute the originator’s wishes for disbursal of their estate, upon death. This document will give the probate court instructions, as well as name an executor (a trusted individual who will carry the estate through the complex probate process). Having a “will” does not prevent probate from needing to happen, but it does make the process much more streamlined and far less time consuming for the judge.
A “will” alone is not likely to cover everything you own. Wills do not cover assets that are covered as joint tenants (owned by two or more people) with rights of survivorship, retirement plans, annuities, life insurance, or financial accounts, that are marked as payable on death or transfer on death to stated beneficiaries.
Issues to address:
- Originators wishes
- Disbursal of estate
- Instructions
- Proper execution
- Prevent probate
- Streamlines process
- Retirement plans
- Annuities
- Life insurance
- Financial accounts
- Payable on death
- Transfer on death
Many states use the practice of common law. Under common law, if the “will” states that everything goes to the surviving current spouse, then the probate process is usually relatively simple in transferring all assets to the surviving spouse. Probate can get much more complicated without a well-drawn plan when both spouses die, causing the probate process for the children to be very unnecessarily stressful and costly.
The biggest concern with only having a “will”, is that any “interested party” can challenge a will. This can play out in different ways, but the bottom line is a contested “will” can cause money to be wasted from the estate on attorney and probate fees, along with delaying dispersal of the estate. The causes can be things such as jealousy between siblings trying to claim more, beneficiaries’ ex-spouses trying to make claims, frivolous lawsuits, or an outsider trying to extort family funds. Until any challenges are resolved in court and probate is resolved, no assets should be given out, from your family legacy.
Prevent the following by having a proper game plan!
- Ability to challenge a will
- Money wasted
- Delay of disbursal
- Unnecessary lawsuits
- False claims
- Jealousy
- Sibling strife
- Ex-spouses
- Family feuds
- Outsider interference and publicity
