Reciprocal wills are simple wills for a couple — spouses. There are two wills produced, one for the husband and one for the wife. The advantage to reciprocal simple wills is lower cost and no requirement to reenter all information for both the husband and wife. Much of the information is the same or shared.
All adults should have wills. For most purposes an adult is a person over the age of eighteen (18) years. Any competent adult may make a will. Some states also allow younger persons including those who are married, emancipated, serving in the military or merchant marine or related to make wills.
Much has been said about avoiding probate by having trusts and other devices to avoid costs and taxes at death. It is always good to make the costs and inconvenience to your loved ones as small as possible. A will is normally an important part of avoiding problems upon death. Nothing can avoid all problems, but proper planning can make life much easier for surviving heirs or others who must deal with the situation after death.
The primary purpose of a Will is to allow you to decide who will receive your probate estate (or money and property) — including property such as a home, a summer cabin, the family dog or cat, heirlooms and many other things too numerous to mention.
There are ways to take property out of your probate estate, or otherwise limit the property being a part of a probate estate. Some of the purposes are:
- to avoid or simplify the time and expense of probate — probate is a court proceeding in which a probate court decides based upon your Will (or state law if you don't have a will) how your money and property are disposed of after your death, and who will care for any minor children after your death. Many states also allow instructions regarding the care of any incapacitated children or an incapacitated spouse,
- to reduce overall expenses and costs of administering an estate,
- to reduce or eliminate estate and other taxes, and
- to make sure the recipient of the property uses the property given as you would like after your death.
The following devices can be good to use if you understand their limitations. They include:
- Joint tenancy ownership of property — including Joint tenancy real property (such as your home), bank accounts, stocks, bonds and many other things. A surviving joint tenant (usually a spouse) receives property upon the death of the other joint tenant with minimal requirements to become the sole owner of the property.
- trusts. An entire discussion may be had for each each type of trust which may be used. There are several different types.
- Various legal entities may be used to transfer wealth. These are also subjects for separate extensive discussions. They include many forms of trusts, Limited Liaility Companies, Corporations, Partnerships, stocks, bonds, etc.
It is recommended that you review the laws of the state you live in before making a will.
A will which you have made in one state is usually valid in another state. However, if you move to another state, it is a good idea to review and see if you need to update your will to follow the laws of your new state of residence, or if other circumstances have changed so that your will needs to be updated..
A few of the events which should cause you to review and perhaps change your will or estate plan are listed below. There are many other situations which may also be a reason to change your will or estate plan.
- A marriage or divorce, of you or your children.
- A birth of a child or grandchild.
- A death of a spouse, child or other heir named in your will.
- A change in financial condition or the value of your property or money — either much better or worse.
- A change in who you want to receive your estate or how money and property are to be distributed to your heirs after your death.
- A family business closing or going out of business.
For most people, a will is an important part of planning to make sure things go smoothly after you die.
You need a will to try to make sure that your wishes are followed. For many people, tax is not an issue. Your family wants to know what you wanted to have done. Making sure you have a proper will and estate plan is also important to attempt to prevent heirs from fighting over your estate and whether they were properly treated. There are many families broken up over small amounts of money or a belief that they have been treated unfairly by a deceased parent, sibling or otherwise.
Another important reason for families with minor children — minor usually means under age eighteen (18) — to have a Will, is to make sure there is someone to care for those children (called a guardian) in the event that the parents have an untimely death. If there is a parent alive, the living parent normally has both the right and the obligation to care for minor children in the event of the other parent's death.
Many states also allow you to name a guardian for an adult incapacitated child or an incapacitated spouse in your will.
This website provides assistance in completing a simple will. It does not attempt to address complex tax, trust or other questions. It is primarily designed to assist those with estates valued at substantially less than the Federal Estate Tax Exemption, including most young families trying to make sure the most important bases (their children) are taken care of.
If you have a gross estate (all the money and property you own) plus adjusted taxable gifts and specific exemption whose value is approaching the Federal Estate Tax Exemption (in 2004, $1,500,000), you should consult an attorney experienced in estate tax matters.
To prepare your simple will, select your state by pressing the state on the buttonbar on the left hand side of this window.
If there is no appropriate state selection on this web page for the state in which you would like to create a Will, you may request the form and select the state you need. There are no promises, but if there are sufficient requests, we will try to satisfy them.
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