Writing A Legal Will
There are many do-it-yourself legal will kits available on the market these days, but are they really the best option to protect your estate and still be sure your loved ones are provided for adequately?
The law surrounding inheritances and estate bequeathing is fraught with legal complications as well as specific obligations on your part. By attempting to create your legal will on your own, you might save yourself a few dollars right now, but you will almost certainly be handing your family a set of problems and expenses they really don’t need.
Estate law specialists can help you create a binding legal will that will be enforceable in the event that something happens to you. The cost may be a little higher than a DIY kit initially, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing your loved ones are protected is worth many times more.
Here are some things to consider when writing your legal will:
1. Legal Wording
Sibling squabbles over the true intent behind a legal will that is not worded clearly enough to be understood is something everyone has heard about. It is vitally important that your will is worded so that nothing can be misinterpreted or disputed once your wishes have been made known.
2. Tax Obligations
Inheritance tax is a complicated area and one best left to the professionals. Assets, businesses, retirement accounts, investment accounts and other items you choose to leave to your loved ones could bring about severe tax implications that may be potentially avoided by speaking with your estate planning attorney.
Incorrect wording or complicated asset protection structures could mean your beneficiaries may lose more than they’re gaining.
3. Children From a Previous Marriage
Many sibling disputes over inheritance arise from complications surrounding the validity of claim from any children you have from a previous marriage. The legalities behind bequeathing assets in a legal will to children from a current marriage and those from a previous marriage should be handled by a legal professional.
4. Business Ownership
You may wish to pass on the ownership of a business to your beneficiaries, but you should know that certain business structures can’t be bequeathed. Your legal will may state that your ownership in a business should be passed to a child or a relative, but if your business structure isn’t of the type that can be passed to a surviving relative, then you might find your life’s work going to waste instead of being handed down in the family as you intended.
5. Retirement and Investment Accounts
An estate planning attorney can help you to specify the correct beneficiaries for your retirement and investment accounts on your legal will, but it’s also important that the individual accounts also reflect the correct beneficiary designations.
6. Update Your Legal Will
Once you’re created your legal will, it will become necessary to update it any time you make a change to your asset holdings or if you discover that you wish to change beneficiaries. This means the birth of a new child or grandchild may incur a change to your legal will to add them as beneficiaries, or perhaps a divorce may see you removing a person from the list of beneficiaries.
No matter what your circumstances, seeking correct legal advice and consulting with your estate planning attorney when creating your legal will is a wise decision that not only protects your assets, but also protects your loved ones.
The law surrounding inheritances and estate bequeathing is fraught with legal complications as well as specific obligations on your part. By attempting to create your legal will on your own, you might save yourself a few dollars right now, but you will almost certainly be handing your family a set of problems and expenses they really don’t need.
Estate law specialists can help you create a binding legal will that will be enforceable in the event that something happens to you. The cost may be a little higher than a DIY kit initially, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing your loved ones are protected is worth many times more.
Here are some things to consider when writing your legal will:
1. Legal Wording
Sibling squabbles over the true intent behind a legal will that is not worded clearly enough to be understood is something everyone has heard about. It is vitally important that your will is worded so that nothing can be misinterpreted or disputed once your wishes have been made known.
2. Tax Obligations
Inheritance tax is a complicated area and one best left to the professionals. Assets, businesses, retirement accounts, investment accounts and other items you choose to leave to your loved ones could bring about severe tax implications that may be potentially avoided by speaking with your estate planning attorney.
Incorrect wording or complicated asset protection structures could mean your beneficiaries may lose more than they’re gaining.
3. Children From a Previous Marriage
Many sibling disputes over inheritance arise from complications surrounding the validity of claim from any children you have from a previous marriage. The legalities behind bequeathing assets in a legal will to children from a current marriage and those from a previous marriage should be handled by a legal professional.
4. Business Ownership
You may wish to pass on the ownership of a business to your beneficiaries, but you should know that certain business structures can’t be bequeathed. Your legal will may state that your ownership in a business should be passed to a child or a relative, but if your business structure isn’t of the type that can be passed to a surviving relative, then you might find your life’s work going to waste instead of being handed down in the family as you intended.
5. Retirement and Investment Accounts
An estate planning attorney can help you to specify the correct beneficiaries for your retirement and investment accounts on your legal will, but it’s also important that the individual accounts also reflect the correct beneficiary designations.
6. Update Your Legal Will
Once you’re created your legal will, it will become necessary to update it any time you make a change to your asset holdings or if you discover that you wish to change beneficiaries. This means the birth of a new child or grandchild may incur a change to your legal will to add them as beneficiaries, or perhaps a divorce may see you removing a person from the list of beneficiaries.
No matter what your circumstances, seeking correct legal advice and consulting with your estate planning attorney when creating your legal will is a wise decision that not only protects your assets, but also protects your loved ones.