What is a Will?

By Kevin Chambers

A will is a legal document that clearly communicates your wishes for the distribution of your property and provides instructions for handling other matters of your estate. Most wills designate an executor who is responsible for carrying out the wishes stipulated in the will. As an integral part of estate planning, a will should be created and updated with the aid of an attorney.

There are some different types of wills:

Self-Proving Will
A self-proving will is the formal name for the type will most people are familiar with. It is prepared by an attorney and signed in the presence of witnesses.

Holographic Will
A will that is not signed in front of witnesses is called a holographic wills. With these types of wills, it is often hard to prove that the testator actually agreed to and signed the document. Laws of different states recognize the validity of holographic wills.

Living Will
A living will is a little different than traditional wills, as it doesn’t relate to financial assets. Rather, it stipulates the action that should be taken for your medical care and life support in case you are incapacitated.

If you don’t have a will, the state in which you live decides how to distribute your assets. They follow the specific states “Intestacy laws.” This leaves you without control of how your assets are distributed.

The legal processes of how assets are settled is called probate. The process varies by state to state, but is almost always public record, is often lengthy, and can be costly. Assets without legally recognized beneficiaries go through probate whether or not there is a will, so designating beneficiaries for eligible assets will allow those assets to bypass probate, reducing legal fees and speeding up the process of distribution. For example, most retirement accounts have named beneficiaries. The same goes for trust accounts and assets classified With Right of Survivorship or Transfer on Death designations. Accounts with named beneficiaries supersede what is written in a will, so it is important to make sure that you know what type of accounts you have and that the beneficiaries are correctly designated. Periodical reviews of your will and beneficiary designations with your attorney can ensure that your estate is distributed as you intend.