Last Will and...

Why have a will? “With a will, you can direct where and to whom your estate (what you own) will go after your death. If you died intestate (without a will), your estate would be distributed according to your state’s law. Wills make the administration of your estate run smoothly.” — DHS

Let me share a story…A dear friend dies a few years back without out a will. His will was handwritten on paper (and as such has no legal standing). As a result, his entire estate went to his brother, who he wasn’t close with and his brother could do what he wanted with the estate.

“Though no single document will likely resolve every issue that arises after your death, a will—officially known as a last will and testament—can come pretty close.“ — Lisa Smith, Investopedia

Some items to include in your will:

·      Distribution of financial assets

·      Distribution of physical property such as real estate, artwork, jewelry, etc.

·      Distribution of digital assets (bitcoins, website(s), digital photos, etc.)

·      If you have kids, guardian designation.

·      If you have pets, a pet trust to pay for food and care and name a person to take care of your pets.

·      Charitable contributions.

My friend’s piece of paper designated me (and my daughter) to take his dog (we were his go to dog sitters). Unfortunately, due to covid, we were unable to take the dog from a friend of his and thankfully she kept the dog until the dog died.

In the case of minor kids, (age dependent of the state you reside in) you should consider a trust. “You might also consider setting up a trust as a way to provide for a beneficiary who is underage. Once the beneficiary is deemed capable of managing their assets, they will receive possession of the trust.” — Lisa Smith, Investopedia  A trust is a legal instrument that allows you to designate when the beneficiary will receive the money and how much. You can arrange to give them all at once or break it up and give some at different ages until the trust is empty. When I divorced, I did this, so my money went to my daughter. I made my ex-husband the trustee. This was done in case I died while my daughter was still a minor and she would end up living with her dad. Luckily that never happened, and I am still here to annoy her.

In the next blog post I will discuss some other legal documents you should have in case you become incapacitated before you die. No one likes to talk about the end of life, but if we’re not doing so, we all might end up like my friend with our estates going to a relative we aren’t close with.