Why Having a Will is So Important

If you are very old or very wealthy, then writing your will could be enjoyable. You get to think about the prosperity you have achieved and how you can use this prosperity to safeguard your younger family members from hardship and to be generous to the people and causes that you care about. For everyone else, though, writing a will can be scary. You are too young to die, and you barely have enough money to support your family until your next paycheck comes in; you would need decades more in the workforce before you could afford to leave your family with something substantial. The truth is that death can happen to anyone at any moment, and adjusting to life without you will be much easier for your family if you write a will than if you do not. Writing a will is easier than you think it is, especially when you work with a Texas will and probate attorney.

Getting Started is the Hardest Part

The probate courts of Texas settle many estates each year where the decedent died without a will. This is a common enough occurrence that Texas has a set of guidelines to follow when someone dies without a will, namely the laws of intestate succession. In Texas, as in many other states, intestate succession laws dictate that the decedent’s closest relatives inherit the estate. In other words, your spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, or nieces and nephews are most likely to inherit your property.

Remember that the purpose of writing a will is not to plan out every detail of your old age and death. It is simply to indicate your decisions so that, in the event of your untimely death, your family is not stuck with the painful task of trying to decide what you would have wanted and settling your estate during probate is faster, less expensive, and less stressful than it would have been if you have died intestate.

Avoiding Family Conflict

Even if leaving your property to your spouse and children is what you would choose, it does not mean that you do not need a will because wills are not just about money. Your will should indicate who should act as personal representative of your estate during probate; if you do not indicate this, then the court must decide. This could mean that a judge has to get involved in a long-standing case of sibling rivalry or stepparent wars. For example, you should indicate whether you want to have your body buried or cremated. If you do not indicate this, then the rift between family members who disagree about this could last well beyond your funeral. Likewise, if you have minor children, you should make every effort to stay alive at least until they reach adulthood, but you should also write a will in which you indicate who should have custody of the children if you and your spouse both die while your children are minors. Arguing with family members over money is painful, but arguing with family members over the disposition of remains and custody of minor children is even worse.

Simplifying Estate Inventory

Some probate cases are more complicated than others, but even the simple ones require the personal representative of the estate to file an estate inventory form. The estate inventory form lists all of the decedent’s assets that belong to the estate. The personal representative of the estate must submit the completed estate inventory form to the probate court no more than 90 days after the court officially appoints them to the role of the personal representative of the estate.

If the decedent’s finances are truly in disarray, the personal representative may ask for an extension of time, hire a probate lawyer to help prepare the estate inventory form, or both. The more detail you include in your will about your assets, the easier it will be for the personal representative to prepare the estate inventory form. If you do not write a will that mentions your specific assets, then the personal representative must investigate or guess, and there is even the risk that other family members will accuse the personal representative of not exercising due diligence or of intentionally concealing your assets to keep them away from the other beneficiaries of your estate.

The estate inventory must include all the assets that will be part of your estate during probate and which the court will distribute to the heirs when the estate settles. Estate planning lawyers can help you find ways to keep some of your assets out of probate, but if you are just getting started on your estate plan, you should assume that all your property, except for property that you own jointly with your spouse, counts as probate assets.

Now That You Have Written a Will, What is Next?

Once you have written a will, you can safely procrastinate the rest of your estate plan. At least, procrastination on other estate planning matters is less dangerous when you have already written a will than when you have not. The next phases of estate planning are related to the maxim that estate planning is about planning for life, not just planning for death. The next thing you should do is buy long-term care insurance or a hybrid life insurance policy that includes long-term care benefits. You should do this even if you are below retirement age and are still working; the younger and healthier you are when you start paying for long-term care insurance, the less expensive it will be. After that, your estate planning goals can shift to preparing for a prosperous retirement and investing money that will ensure you a retirement income with as low a tax burden as possible.

Contact Marchand Law, LLP About Drafting a Will

An estate and probate attorney can help you draft a legally valid will so that you can later return to other aspects of your estate plan when you are ready.  Contact Marchand Law, LLP in Dallas, Texas, to discuss your case.