Finance

WILLS

If you own a house or have children you need a will.
If you do not have a will, a court will who gets what when you die!

A will is a "legal device" that lets the world know who you want to get your assets, after your death. If  you die without a will (in testate), the state will decide who gets your house, your furniture, your money and possibly your kids, without any regard to your spoken wishes or your heirs needs. If you're married and have children, the courts will usually divide your estate between your spouse and children. If you are single and have no children, the state will decide which of your blood relatives will inherit your estate.

Making a will is especially important for people or families with young children (under 18), because wills are the best, simplest and least traumatic way for transferring guardianship of minors if both parents are killed (die).

Your will can be changed at any time. It is a good idea to review it annually, especially if your marital status has change. At the same time you review your will, review the beneficiary designations for your 401(k), IRA, pension plans and life insurance policies. These accounts will all be transferred automatically to the people you named as beneficiaries when you die.

A will is always considered advisable and in fact necessary even if you have a trust. A trust is a legal mechanism that lets you place conditions on how your assets are distributed after you die, as well as letting you minimize gift and estate taxes. You need a will because most trusts deal with specific assets such as life insurance and your house, but not all of your holdings (Cars, collectables, money, etc).

Even if you have a revocable living trust in which you have put most of your assets, you will still need a pour-over will. In addition to letting you name a guardian(s) for your children, this type of will lets you ensure that all of the assets you intended to put into the trust are put in there after you die, even if you forgot to re-title them before your death.

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