Making Out Your Will: What You Should Consider

Your last will and testament are the cornerstone of your estate plan. No matter how valuable or modest your estate is, a will is necessary to ensure that your wishes are carried out properly. An estate planning attorney can help you navigate through the process and create a will that does everything you want it to do and more. Read on and consider these issues when making out your will. 

What Should be Addressed in a Will?

Although a will is best known for parsing out the deceased's property to beneficiaries, a will can do more than that. Consider using your will to do the following tasks:

• Leave specific pieces of property to loved ones.
• Leave your estate to be divided equally among your adult children.
• Appoint a person to oversee the administration of the will. This person is known as a personal representative or an executor.
• Ensure the debts of the estate are paid.
• Appoint someone to care for a minor child or a disabled adult.
• Leave assets to charitable organizations.
• Leave a pet to a trusted caregiver along with an inheritance.

And more.

What About Probate?

Almost all estates must go through probate. However, all states have provisions for addressing very small estates that may shorten or eliminate probate in some cases. Probate can take several months to complete. Ask your estate or probate lawyer about what to expect in your local area since probate is governed by your county of residence.

The main purpose of probate originally was to ensure that anyone passing away with debts should have their estate probated to determine who is owed. Even though that is still an important part of probate, it's mostly about making sure that the estate is valued for tax purposes and that it is distributed properly to the beneficiaries.

Not everyone dies with a will. Some people make out their own wills and the results are not legal. If no legal will exists to probate, the probate court will take over and make decisions based on state law. That usually means the survivors of the deceased are addressed in a certain order with the distribution of property. It can take longer to process an estate that has no will.

Creating a will that covers all the important provisions and will be accepted by the probate court is important. The best way to accomplish that is to get help from an estate lawyer.