 |
Tags: finance, estate plan trusts, steps to writing a will
 Remember the adage that the only two things assured in this life are death and taxes. We don’t really talk about death since it highlights our own mortality. But it is important to talk about death, or rather what happens after you pass away especially if you have a family and assets to leave behind.
This is because if you don’t make any plans concerning the distribution of wealth, you can leave a myriad of problems for your loved ones. A last will and testament takes care of that concern, and if you haven’t done so yet, you need to take steps to writing a will for your family’s sake.
advertisement
But how to write a will? It all depends on the size of your estate and how complicated your distributions will be. If you’re not really leaving behind a large estate, and if your beneficiaries are straightforward enough, you can simply draw up one by yourself. However, if you have a large estate with potential financial complications you may want to use a lawyer that practices estate planning.
At the very least it would be good to get some advice since depending on where you live there may be certain requirements in order to make your will legal. Once you have decided in writing a will, you need to make sure of certain things first. Let’s start with who your executor will be.
It has to be someone you trust who will abide with your instructions and will be responsible for handling huge amounts of money. And always have a back-up or secondary executor. Things happen that can prevent your first choice from serving. The same is true if you will be assigning guardians for your minor children or appointing trustees for your trusts.
When it comes down to actually writing a will make sure that you leave no doubt that the document is yours and yours alone. Put your full name as part of the header along with your complete current address in the first paragraph. Include any and all aliases so there is no doubt you are who you say you are.
And you may have heard this on movies and TV shows but it’s included in writing a will, the statement that says that you are of sound mind and that you wrote the testament without any duress. Basically you’re saying that you were lucid when you wrote the document and that no one forced you to write down anything you didn’t want to.
This is so no one can say someone influenced you to bequeath them a portion of your estate. In writing a will don’t forget to put in a clause stating that you are revoking any and all wills and codicils that you may have written before. This is to make everyone treat this document as the only instructions that they should follow.
You also need to specifically state your spouse and any children you may have in writing a will. Follow the same rule that you used in identifying yourself—specifically state each one’s name including any and all aliases as well as current addresses if applicable. At this point you would also have you executor and substitutes named as well as what their functions will be along with your instructions for them.
Concerning your assets in writing a will—you can write specific bequeaths for specific items such as the yellow grand piano to my son Mark, etc. Be as specific as possible so that there will be no confusion. The rest of your assets will simply become part of the residual estate and will be distributed to your residual beneficiaries not specifically named.
And after finishing writing a will don’t forget to sign it along with 2 or 3 disinterested witnesses in front of a notary. And you’re done writing a will. Keep it safe.
About the author
The author of this article Rick Goldfeller is a successful underground Financial Analyst who has been advising and coaching individuals for many years. Rick recently published a book on how to manage your money and attract Wealth and Financial Freedom. More info on his Finance Planning course is available HERE.
Share this article
You may reprint this article in its entirety on your web site, newsletter or ezine, providing you leave the About the author sections intact. You may not alter the contents.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Previous 10 estate-plan-trusts articles:
|
|
|
|
|
|
