Did you know that in the state of Indiana if you die without a will that your estate will go to your siblings? If you are widowed or divorced, your brothers and sisters are the first in line to inherit your assets even if you have children. That was something we discovered when my aunt passed away. Her children had to hire an attorney to legally pass ownership from my mother back to themselves, which my mother was more than willing to do.
In other places, if you don’t have a will, your estate , or all the things you own and all your money, go to your spouse automatically. In case you were planning to leave part of your things or part of your money to your children, or to a charitable organization, having no valid will when you pass away insures that only your current spouse, husband or wife, will inherit your things, even if you no longer live with them.
In some states, though, the state becomes the beneficiary if there is no will designating who your beneficiary will be. The very best way to insure that your estate, your assets, your diamond rings, and your grandpa’s walking cane will go to the person you want them to go to is to make a will. And the best time to make a will if you don’t have one is right now.
It is especially important to make a will if you have young children. If you fail to appoint a legal guardian who will be able to take responsibility for them upon your death, they may wind up being taken care of by people they barely know or whom you would never leave them with. Make sure your children are adequately provided for by making a will now.
There are so many things to consider when making a will that it is suggested that you contact an attorney to make sure that all your bases are covered. In most places, you can do it yourself with forms that you can find online. While that would be much cheaper alternative, paying an attorney a little more right now insures that your wishes are followed later. Just like with wine, cheaper is not better where legal documents are concerned.
How do you find an attorney if you don’t already have one? What things do you need to know before you go? What questions should you be prepared to ask? How much will it cost? You can find out about all this and more with quick tips about will writing from Prime Lawyers
This is a great post. I can’t believe how many people put off writing a will. It is one of the most important things you need to do especially as a parent. We have wills that cover every situation for my husband and myself. It was very important to us to make sure our children were protected. Writing a will is much easier then it sounds like.
Making a will is one of the best gifts you can give to your loved ones.
very informative post. thank you. I’ll be looking into preparing a will very soon.
This is something the hubby and I have put off, we need to make sure that our oldest grandson that we are guardians of who as Aspergers will be taken care of and still be able to live her at home. We are not rich, but we do need to sit down and get this done, Thank you for sharing and the little reminder of how important it is to get a will made.