I do a lot of wills and other “planning” documents in my practice. Usually, the clients are young couples with children who want to make sure that everything is taken care of. I have had a couple of cases where the client is a person who has recently been given bad news by the doctor. We usually don’t think of wills as something that will be used within the next year but it does happen.
So do you need a will? Most people I deal with are not “rich” by any measure. The typical estate consists of a house with a mortgage, a couple of cars, some bank accounts and retirement. PeopleI often find that clients do much to avoid probate. Bank accounts can be set up as payable on death (POD) or joint tenants with rights of survivorship (JTWROS). Retirement and investment accounts can be set up with a named beneficiary. The question these clients often ask is, “Why do I need a will? If I can transfer all of these assets with a simple administrative form (and NO LAWYERS) why should I go throught the hassle and expense of hiring a lawyer?”
There are a couple of real advantanges to having a lawyer prepare a will and other estate planning documents for you. In Texas, a properly executed will makes the process of transfering assets at death easy and fairly inexpensive. All that is required in a typical probate after the filing of the will is a short prove up hearing, notice to creditors and a return of an inventory, appraisement and list of claims. If you have minor children, a will can include provisions determining who will care for the children in the event of you and your spouse both dying.
If you die without a will there is a long process of administration in which there is an attorney for the estate and at least one attorney for the heirs. You also need to have a proceeding to determine who the heirs are. In a dependant administration of the estate, your attorney must file a motion for court approval of every transfer, sale and expense of the estate. If you have minor children a dispute over guardianship of the children could leave them in limbo for months.
Call today to set up an appointment to discuss getting these important documents prepared for you.
Tags: , estate planning, guardianship, lawyer, wills and probate
