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A will, more formally known as a last will and testament, is a legal document setting out your desires and intentions regarding the distribution of your real and personal property after your death. It is your last will and testament that determines how, when and even why you want your property apportioned between your relatives, friends and charities.

As a general rule, both the courts and your heirs are required to honor the wishes you have expressed in your will regarding the distribution of your estate. There are some exceptions to this rule when it comes to spouses and children – which we will discuss in a future article.

In addition to being able to set out who receives your property, your last will can also be used to appoint one or more people to act as the executor of your will. Your executor will be responsible for carrying out the instructions left if your will after your death including distributing your estate, dealing with the payment of taxes and debts and generally winding up your affairs.

Without a will, decisions as to how your estate will be distributed and who will act as executor of your estate will be made by the probate court in accordance with your state’s intestacy laws (that is the laws that apply where a person dies without a valid will). The decisions are based on state and federal law so if you want to make these decisions yourself, it’s best to make a will.

Another benefit of having a will is that you can nominate someone to be the guardian of any minor children you have. While the court is not obliged to follow this particular instruction, it does have significant persuasive authority in helping the court make a decision about guardianship.

The author of a last will & testament is known as the ‘testator’ as he is “attesting” to his wishes as set out in his will. The term ‘testator’ has become gender neutral over the years and now refers to both male and female will makers. That said, it is not uncommon to see the female designation of the word (‘testatrix’) used, particularly in older wills.

A last will and testament is a fundamental part of estate planning and features in the vast majority of estate plans. We highly recommend that you make a will and would be happy to answer any questions you have in that respect.

How Can EstateBee Help You?

For more information on wills, check out some of our other articles on wills in our Learning Center.

If you would prefer a more in-depth understanding of wills and to learn how to make your own, check out our book How to Make a Last Will & Testament. “Make Your Own Last Will and Testament” includes a plain English review of the matters you need to consider when making a will, and includes all of the instructions and template forms necessary to make your own will. It will show you how to leave money and property to your loved ones, avoid intestacy, appoint guardians for your children, save on legal fees and probate, much more.

If you have any questions about our products or services, please contact our  customer service team who would be delighted to assist you.

While you are not required to make a last will & testament it is most certainly something that you should do. It allows you to have a say in what happens to your assets and, in some cases, your children after your death.

Many people believe that they don’t need to make a last will and testament as their estate is not very large. However, even for a person of very modest means, it is a good idea to write a will. There are a number of benefits to writing will. In particular, a last will:

• allows you to dictate, via clear instructions, how you want your debts settled and assets distributed following your death;
• allows you to choose a representative (known as an executor) to wind up your affairs;
• allows you to appoint guardians to take care of your minor children;
• allows you to make property management arrangements to cater for young beneficiaries who will inherit under your will;
• assists in preserving or even enhancing the value of your estate through the incorporation of tax and/or estate planning techniques; and
• gives you peace of mind by allowing you to organize your affairs in a manner that you see fit. This gives you the security of knowing that you haven’t left behind a legal and emotional nightmare for your family and friends.

If you don’t write a will, the probate court will make all of these decisions for you in accordance with the provisions of state law. These decisions may not be in accord with your wishes.

How Can EstateBee Help You?

For more information on wills, check out some of our other articles on wills in our Learning Center.

If you would prefer a more in-depth understanding of wills and to learn how to make your own, check out our book How to Make a Last Will & Testament. “Make Your Own Last Will and Testament” includes a plain English review of the matters you need to consider when making a will, and includes all of the instructions and template forms necessary to make your own will. It will show you how to leave money and property to your loved ones, avoid intestacy, appoint guardians for your children, save on legal fees and probate, much more.

If you have any questions about our products or services, please contact our  customer service team who would be delighted to assist you.

While most state laws don’t have a specific form of last will & testament, all of them have laws which set out the minimum elements required for a last will and testament to be deemed a valid will (or a legal will).

In order to make a valid last will & testament, the flowing elements must be complied with:

• It must be made by someone who has reached the age of majority in his or her state.
• It must be made by someone voluntarily and without pressure from any other person.
• It must be made by someone who is of ‘sound and disposing mind’.
• It must be in writing (normally).
• The will must be signed by the testator in the presence of two witnesses or, in the case of wills executed in the state of Vermont, three witnesses.
• The last will & testament must also be signed by all the witnesses in the presence of the testator (after he or she has signed it) and in the presence of each other. A beneficiary under the last will and testament or the spouse of such a beneficiary should not act as a witness to the signing of the last will and testament. If such a beneficiary or the spouse of such a beneficiary act as a witness, the gift to the beneficiary under the will shall be deemed to be invalid, although the will itself will remain valid.
• It include an attestation clause.

In the state of Louisiana, a notary must notarize the last will & testament. However, while not necessary, notarization is recommended to help ensure wills are more easily admitted to probate.

How Can EstateBee Help You?

For more information on wills, check out some of our other articles on wills in our Learning Center.

If you would like to make a last will and testament online, check out our Online Will Writing Software. Its free to try and you can make a will in as little as 10 minutes. It’s also one of the leading estate planning softwares on the market.

Alternatively, if you would prefer a more in-depth understanding of wills and to learn how to make your own, check out our Legal Will Kit. It includes a plain English review of the matters you need to consider when making a will, and includes all of the instructions and template forms necessary to make your own will. It will show you how to leave money and property to your loved ones, avoid intestacy, appoint guardians for your children, save on legal fees and probate, much more.

If you have any questions about our products or services, please contact our  customer service team who would be delighted to assist you.

When it comes to making their last wills, many couples (both married and unmarried) tend to share a common or joint objective in terms of how they would like to see their property distributed after they have passed away. More often than not, they would simply like mirror wills to ensure that certain of their family, friends and favourite charities are provided for in accordance with their means. In order to achieve these joint objectives, however, couples need to ensure that their distribution plans are ‘in sync’ with each other by using mirror wills. In other words, they need to ensure that their mirror last wills and other estate planning devices work in harmony with each other to achieve their joint objectives.

When it comes to making a last will and testament, spouses and partners (each called a ‘testator’) can usually chose to make each of the following types of wills:

• make a standard will;

• make a mirror will; or

• make a joint will.

Each of these types of will is described briefly below.

Standard Wills

A standard will is a last will and testament that has been prepared by one person and deals with the distribution of that person’s assets and estate only. It does not, on its face, take into account any provisions which that person’s spouse or partner may have made in their last will. However, it may of course make provision for that person’s spouse or partner to receive gifts under their legal will in the normal way.

Mirror wills

A mirror will is a last will & testament in which a testator makes a last will which has provisions almost identical to that or their spouse or partner’s last will. In many cases, these types of last will provide that all the testator’s assets will be left to the other spouse or partner if the testator dies first, and if both spouses or partners die together then to named beneficiaries. Apart from the fact that the wills of each spouse or partner are almost identical, each mirror will is made by the spouses/partners on separate documents and can be revoked by the spouse/partner making it at any time without the knowledge or consent of their spouse or partner.

Joint Wills

A joint will is a single document made by two spouses or partners setting out how their property and assets are to be distributed following their deaths. In many cases, joint wills simply provide that when one of the spouses/partners dies, their assets will transfer to the other or to named beneficiaries under the will. In addition, joint wills also set out details as to what will happen to the assets held by the surviving spouse or partner when he or she dies.

This manner in which the will provides for the distribution of the surviving spouse/partner’s estate is extremely important because when the first spouse or partner dies, the joint will becomes irrevocable. In other words, it cannot be changed by the surviving spouse or partner in any way. This inability of the surviving spouse/partner to change the joint will after the death of the other spouse/partner therefore places enormous restrictions on the surviving spouse or partner. Even where the circumstances may warrant a change being made to the will, the survivor is powerless to do so. This can be all the more problematic where the spouses/partners die a number of years apart. It is for this reason that we do not ordinarily recommend the use of joint wills and suggest the use of two separate mirror wills in its place.

How Can EstateBee Help You?

For more information on wills, check out some of our other articles on wills in our Learning Center.

If you would prefer a more in-depth understanding of wills and to learn how to make your own, check out our book How to Make a Last Will & Testament. “Make Your Own Last Will and Testament” includes a plain English review of the matters you need to consider when making a will, and includes all of the instructions and template forms necessary to make your own will. It will show you how to leave money and property to your loved ones, avoid intestacy, appoint guardians for your children, save on legal fees and probate, much more.

If you have any questions about our products or services, please contact our  customer service team who would be delighted to assist you.

State laws set out the specific requirements for executing a last will and testament. These laws are very similar and don’t vary too widely from state to state. A best practice approach to executing a will would include the following steps:

• While it is only a legal requirement in Louisiana, you should write your initials, in the presence of two witnesses (in Vermont, you should have three witnesses), at the bottom of each page of your last will, except the last (signature) page.
• Each of the witnesses should then, in your presence and in the presence of each other, initial each page next to where you just placed your initials.
• You should then insert the date on which you are signing your will in the space provided on the final page of the will.
• You should write your initials beside where you inserted the date.
• Each of your witnesses should then, in your presence and in the presence of each other, write their initials beside where you placed your initials (i.e. beside the date).
• You must then sign your ordinary signature, using a pen, in the space provided on the final execution page of the last will.
• Each witness must then, in your presence and in the presence of each other, write his/her name and address in the space provided on the final page of the last will and then sign their name with their normal signature.

There are also some additional rules.

Firstly, your witnesses must be at least 18 years of age and should not be your spouse or a beneficiary under your will (or a spouse of such beneficiary), as this could nullify any gifts you make to them under your will.

Secondly, if you are making a  will in Louisiana, you must have it notarized. While there’s no legal obligation to have your will notarized in any other state, it’s actually good practice. By signing a self-proving affidavit in the presence of a notary and attaching it to your will, it can help avoid any problems that might arise in the future when admitting your will to probate. These problems tend to relate to challenges to the authenticity of the will or compliance with the legal requirements necessary to make it valid. So, certainly, if you think there is a risk your will could be challenged in the future, then you should visit your notary and sign a self-proving affidavit.

How Can EstateBee Help You?

For more information on wills, check out some of our other articles on wills in our Learning Center.

If you would like to make a last will and testament, check out our Online Will Writing Software. Its free to try and you can make a will in as little as 10 minutes. It’s also one of the leading estate planning softwares on the market.

On the other hand, if prefer a more in-depth understanding of wills and to learn how to make your own, check out our book How to Make a Last Will & Testament. “Make Your Own Last Will and Testament” includes a plain English review of the matters you need to consider when making a will, and includes all of the instructions and template forms necessary to make your own will. It will show you how to leave money and property to your loved ones, avoid intestacy, appoint guardians for your children, save on legal fees and probate, much more.

If you have any questions about our products or services, please contact our  customer service team who would be delighted to assist you.

There are two specific methods you can follow when revoking a will. You can either:

• draft a new last will which expressly states that it revokes and terminates your existing will (and any codicils to it); or
• physically destroy your existing will.

Writing of the word ‘revoked’ on your will does not legally revoke it.

In most cases, make a new will is best. By having something in writing, signed by you and dated, its much easier for your executors to demonstrate that you terminated your old will. Compare that to a scenario where you simply tore up or destroyed your old will…….it’s not beyond the realm of possibility that someone might simply say it was lost and perhaps even produce a copy of your old will claiming it was still valid and still reflected your wishes.

Don’t take that chance – make a new will and give copies to your executors and family (as you see fit of course).

In addition to the above, your last will is normally revoked by marriage unless it has been drafted “in contemplation of marriage” and expressly says that. In some states, a will can be revoked if you have a child after executing your will if the will has not expressly dealt with this possibility in its terms. For these reasons, it’s important to ensure that you update your will every time you experience a major life event.

We recommend updating your will at least every two years.

How Can EstateBee Help You?

For more information on wills, check out some of our other articles on wills in our Learning Center.

If you would prefer to learn how to make your own last will and testament, check out our Legal Will Kit. It includes a summary of all the things you need to consider when making a will, as well as all of the instructions and template forms necessary to make your own last will and testament. It will show you how to leave money and property to your loved ones, avoid intestacy, appoint guardians for your children, save on legal fees and probate, much more.

If you have any questions about our products or services, please contact our  customer service team who would be delighted to assist you.