3 Tips For Writing Your Personal Will
Are you starting the process of writing your own will? If so, you may be looking for some tips that will help you do it the correct way.
Make Your Will Brief
Your goal should be to make your will as brief as possible. The less information you have in your will leads to less confusion when interpreting it during probate. At the very least, you should designate your personal representative that will act as the executor of your estate. Make sure you ask this person if it is okay to name them as your personal representative.
You should also name your heirs, who are the people that will inherit your property. However, you should name as few heirs as possible. Including multiple people and groups as heirs will only extend the probate process and make it lengthy and expensive.
It will also help to not list things in your will that don't have to be listed. Many accounts and assets have joint owners or beneficiaries that automatically receive that asset without a will. Do not bother listing these things in your will. It is much easier to make changes to those items by changing the beneficiary, and then you do not need to go back and update your will so that it matches.
Use Simple Language
Your will should be as simple to read as possible. Sometimes people use language that is unnecessary and too lengthy, which can leave things up to interpretation. Make sure that you can understand your will in order to avoid any confusion. While your lawyer may draft your will and use a few key legal terms that are necessary, you should still know what is being said if you know what those words mean. The more complicated language that your will contains can cause it to be contested because it is up for interpretation.
Avoid Giving Specific Assets To Heirs If You Have Debts
If you have the cash on hand to pay off your debts after you pass away, then you won't have any issues with giving away specific assets to certain people. However, things become complicated when you do have debts. That's because you may give your home to a family member, but then the home has to be sold to pay off your debts. This can cause the will to be challenged, because other people will be inheriting assets that don't have to be sold and lose their value, and it becomes a matter of what assets are sold to pay off your debts.
Reach out to a wills lawyer for more information.
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