A Journey Into Estate Planning: The (Basic) Will
August 2, 2017
(First read the introduction post and find links to the other Journey Into Estate Planning posts).In the most basic of cases a Will dictates what you want done with your property after you die, and who should help facilitate those transfers. In other words, your Will states who should get what stuff, and who should make sure that stuff is given to the right people or organization.
There may be several people that are named in your Will. You will name who should get what. Is it all to a spouse? To your children? To charitable organizations? That’s something for you to determine.
In addition to name who gets what, you will also name some important people. You might have Guardians for your minor children. You might have Trustees to administer the Trust you set up in your Will. You will have a Personal Representative (PR) named. The PR is the person in charge of administering your estate. I’ve already written about what makes a good PR. You may or may not want to provide the people listed above with a copy of your Will.
Your Will doesn’t go into effect until you submit the Will in Probate Court and the PR is named. These links provide more detailed information about Probate Court: all about the Personal Representative, the Court Process, and Administration.
A Will is something that anyone over the age of 18 could have. However, only after consulting with an attorney can you determine if you need one. Minnesota has Intestate Laws for people who don’t have Wills. If you agree with what the State of Minnesota would do, maybe you don’t need one. Or maybe you really do need one because you don’t want to follow the Intestate Laws. Many people first get Wills after they are married, or have children, or see a fight within their family when people don’t have Wills.
Major life events are certainly times for people to review - if not update/draft- their Wills: marriage, divorce, a new child, death of a spouse, ect… However, it is always a good idea to make sure that your wishes in your Will are still your wishes. That the people and the stuff line up as they should.
If you have questions about estate planning for yourself or your family, contact Claire Tralle to set up a free initial consultation today.
The information in the Journey Into Estate Planning series are intended to provide information only. No legal advice is being provided or implied via this blog post. No attorney-client relationship is formed by providing this information. An attorney-client relationship with Tralle Law, LLC is formed only after a retainer contact is signed by all parties.
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