A staggering 55% of Americans do not have a will at the time of their death. When they happens, it creates several problems that their family and friends are left to sort out on their own. The best way to avoid these problems is by creating a will. Create one with a lawyer that specializes in estate planning, which will help avoid these two problems.
Dividing Assets
A will helps identify how you want your assets to be divided after you pass away. Many people assume that this is unnecessary because assets automatically go to a spouse of a married couple. Unfortunately, there are some problems with this logic.
If a couple is separated from each other at the time of one person's death, but still legally married, all assets will go to the surviving spouse. This will happen even if it is not the intention since a separation is in progress.
When someone passes away without a spouse, but with living children, the assets will go to the children automatically as well. You may have preferences about how assets are divided among multiple children, and not creating a will can create problems as the children try to decide amongst themselves.
A will simplifies how your assets are divided, and you can choose who gets your assets. While it won't eliminate all arguments, it can help make some tough decisions that you would otherwise leave to your children.
Long Legal Process
Having a will should also improve the length of the legal process involved when dividing your assets. An attorney can move directly onto dividing assets and settling the estate, rather than have to deal with probate. This will save money on legal costs, and pass on more money to those that will be receiving their inheritance.
Probate is the process where a judge reviews your estate and makes decisions about how assets are divided. It is typically a lengthy process, which will delay how quickly people will be able to receive their inheritance. The court will also take a portion of your estate for handling the probate process, which is another way the your inheritance will be limited to friends and family.
Creating a will is the easiest thing you can do, even if it is simplified to give all your belongings to a single person. Work with an estate planning office such as Skeen Law Offices to sort out these details while you still can.
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