We at Createmywill.com hear it all the time. The stories about people who put off the process of writing a last will and testament. Some think its too expensive while others think it takes too much time. We even heard stories about people assuming all of their worldly possessions will simply be transferred to their spouses and children like a relay race runner passing the baton to a a teammate. This one always baffles me as when has the law ever made anything simpler or more affordable…let alone the fact when one tries to create a will its largely for reasons of taxation?
But you do not need to have Bill Gates type money nor Stephen Hawking’s intellect to get started on writing your last will and testament. Writing a will is actually very easy to do and with streamlined services offered up by the fine folks at createmywill.com to download will forms online there is now an easy way to start on the process of creating your will while minimizing the pain commonly associated with the process thereof. Writing a will is important for a myriad of reasons of which we will take some time to discuss below.
Writing a will can ensure that your assets and property will be distributed out as you see fit.
If you are with a will do not assume that your assets and property will be be guaranteed to pass to your spouse and children! The law will first try to determine the exact amount of your estate and assets. Creating a living will is the only way to promise that your instructions will be followed through upon your death.
Writing a last will and testament can ensure that you can personally appoint and designate powers for an Executor of your estate. This process allows you to decide who will act as overseer to distribute your estate assets as part of your overall estate plan. Why is this important? How would you like it if a person with whom you never agreed with and disliked somehow managed to be the judge and jury of your estate?
If you want to have the final say on who will appoint a guardian for your minor children writing a last will and testament can make those wishes known . A Last Will and Testament serves as the legally binding documentation that clearly dictates with whom will care for your minor children in the event of untimely death. Certainly the least appealing of all reasons to create a will but by that same token arguably the most important.
Specifying your funeral wishes. Imagine that you always wanted our funeral to be a celebration of life as opposed to the solemn and traditional roman catholic variety. Imagine you wanted to be buried at sea or have your ashes sprinkled over your favorite hiking spot. No matter what nor how elaborate your final wishes, stating these wishes in your last will and testament form not only solidifies your funeral plans but also eases the burden of having your loved ones in their time of grief from having to make these decisions.
Reduce Legal Costs and Getting things done quickly. Having a last will and testament often means the transference of your property and assets faster and cheaper. A clear cut, easy to read, concise will reduces the possibilities that you may incur additional costs via legal fees thus giving a bigger portion of your assets to your benefactors.

DIYInstitute.com has announced that its online estate planning service, Createmywill.com is reaching a milestone with the popular website nearing its 8 year anniversary in May. Through their unique online service, clients can download estate planning forms and attorney authored guides without having to pay the higher costs commonly associated with traditional methods of estate planning.

“The days of disposable cash are over,” said CreateMyWill.com creator and owner Jason Mcclain. “A few years ago paying for estate planning was something we considered the price of admission for having that service performed. Today, Americans are finding ways to cut expenses and do it yourself estate planning is another service that falls under that umbrella. We offer forms for all 50 US States, so someone can get California Last Will and Tesament forms quickly and easily.”

With the typical, average costs for estate planning attorney fees ranging from $2000 to $3000 the prospects of Createmywill.com and the practicality of Do-It-Yourself estate planning such as downloadable last will and testament forms and living trust forms have surged as the prospects of economical renewal stagnates.

“The deeper I delved into how to make the dream of every American being able to handle and manage their own estate planning needs; the more I realized how so much of the estate planning process can be streamlined and simplified free of legal speak and unnecessary jargon,” said McClain. “Providing this service for 8 years with continued growth is a testament towards the need for cost efficient means towards Estate Planning.”

The risk of having an outdated Estate Plan or no Estate Plan entirely could subject their heirs of an estate to extreme risk of financial loss due to laws regarding taxation. Utilizing Online Estate Planning Forms and Guides clearly and succinctly put forth a legal strategy maximizing the passage of assets and property onto heirs in a way specifically granted by the executor. Createmywill.com seeks to take a complicated matter, which many procrastinate over and never fully realize, and turn it into a simple downloadable form that makes starting the estate planning quick, easy, and cost efficient.

Anyone of legal age and sound mind can make a Will.

If you have property that you wish to distribute at the time of your death, you should have a Will; and good fortune has it that Createawill.com can make getting started as easy as a click of a button away.

When you make out your Will, you’ll need to designate beneficiaries and an executor. The beneficiaries are the people or organizations who receive your property. The executor is the one you designate to see that your wishes are carried out. All of these decisions need to be made when creating a last will and testament.

If you have minor children, you should also nominate a guardian to provide for the physical welfare of your children.

In most states, a minor becomes an adult at the age of 18. Once he or she reaches that legal age, certain rights and privileges are granted. This is true for most states when it comes to making a Will. Forty-seven states currently require the Will maker to be at least 18 years of age. South Dakota is the only state that requires the Will maker to be older than 18. Louisiana sets the minimum age at 16, while in Georgia; you can make a Will as early as 14 years of age. Several states may allow for those younger than 18 years of age to write a Will if they are married, economically independent, or a member of the military.

Division of Property

The main purpose of a Will is to make provisions for the division of your property after your death. In general, you can designate anyone you wish to be your beneficiaries and you can distribute your assets in any fashion, but there are a few exceptions. Many states have provisions that provide the surviving spouse with the ability to elect to take a defined portion of the estate regardless of the provisions in the Will.

Leaving Property to Spouses

Most of the time, spouses are the major beneficiary in a  Will. Even so, there are laws in all states that protect the surviving spouse from being disinherited. Some allow the spouse to take an elective share of the estate, usually one-half or one-third, regardless of the provisions in the Will. One method to disinherit a spouse may be through the use of a premarital agreement, but the courts are apt to closely scrutinize such agreements to make sure that the agreement was signed in good faith and with full disclosure of assets.

It’s possible to put limitations on the property that you leave to a spouse through the establishment of living trusts for the benefit of your spouse that come into existence after you die. You should consider the following factors in deciding what kind of trust is best for your circumstances:

• the possibility that your spouse’s needs may increase in the future
• the manner of living to which your spouse is accustomed
• the ability of your spouse to provide for his or her own needs
• the ability of your spouse to manage the trust assets
• the possibility that your spouse may remarry and the affect the marriage may have on your children or other beneficiaries.

Providing for Minor Children

Many times a spouse is given the entire estate with the expectation that he or she will provide for minor children. That expectation is not always sound however, especially when the surviving spouse is not the parent of the children, or if the spouse is not available to care for the children at the time of your death.

One of the most common practices under these circumstances is the establishment in the Will of a minor children’s trust. The trust provides financial support for the children until they become adults, at which time the remaining assets of the trust are distributed to them. It is important to carefully select the trustee, who will manage the trust and make the distributions to your children. The trustee will work closely with the person you’ve named as guardian to raise your children. In many cases, the trustee and the guardian are the same person.

Leaving Property to Adult Children

It’s common for adult children to receive a significant portion of their parent’s property. On the other hand, in every state except Louisiana, it is legally permissible to disinherit a child, regardless of his or her needs or age. Louisiana law provides that no child under the age of 23 at the time of the parent’s death can be disinherited.

Leaving Property to Grandchildren

Grandparents often leave portions of their estates to their grandchildren to help pay for special needs or educational expenses. Grandparents may also leave property to grandchildren because their parents already have sufficient assets.

Written Requirements

Most Wills are documented with the written word. These are usually formatted with typewriters or word processors. If properly signed and witnessed according to the requirements of the state where signed, these are legally valid in all states. However, there are other types of Wills.

Some states recognize Holographic Wills. These are handwritten, unwitnessed Wills, signed only by the Will maker. A few states still recognize Oral Wills, under certain conditions. Others offer a standard Will form, where you just fill in the blanks.

A relatively new type of Will is the Video Will, where the Will maker usually reads his or her Will out loud before a video camera. Videotaping a Will can help avoid a Will contest by showing that the Will maker was competent and following proper signing formalities. Keep in mind that many states will not recognize a video Wills as a substitute for a written Will; the Will maker should do both.

Signing Requirements

In order to make your Estate Plan or Living Will valid, you must sign the document in the presence of at least two witnesses. They, in turn, must sign it as well, in your presence and in the presence of each other. At the time of the signing, most state require that you be mentally competent and at least 18 years of age.

Witnesses

Witnesses are very important to the validity of a Will. The signature of at least two witnesses is required in order to affirm that you were mentally competent and under no duress at the time you executed the Will. Each witness must understand that they are witnessing a the signing of a Living Will and they must be competent to testify in court. Witnesses should sign in the presence of each other.

In many states, a witness cannot be a beneficiary of the estate. States have adopted these laws to prevent any conflict of interest from those who may be in line for gifts, or who may benefit from your death. Some states will allow for a beneficiary to act as a witness, but in doing so, that witness may lose some or all of the property that he or she would have to inherited.

One of the question we are most frequently asked is that of what is the difference between a living wills and versus that of a last will and testament? First, we must understand that a last will and testament is  very different from a living will. Downloadable living wills are used in preparation in the event of a severe medical tragedy or emergency. If a person needs extreme medical care to the point that they are incapacitated and living only to the presence of life via medical equipment and technology, more often then not that person is unable to make decisions regarding health care issues or other medical treatment.

A person suffers a stroke, or involved in a car accident, and is left in a coma or in a vegetative state, and the preserving life is maintained only through life support; families often have to struggle with the decisions as to whether or not to continue medical treatment or finally decide to pull the plug. Unfortunately there are times that the family’s decisions are different from what the wishes of the patient requests. This is exactly the case when a do it yourself living will forms can come in handy. In living wills-a person specifies and requests what route they want to take should an event arise such as described above. Once again its very clear- last will and testament are very different from living wills.

While living wills deal with issues that happen to a person before legal death; last will and testaments deal with a person’s desires after death. Last will and testament forms are important for everybody; but especially to those with families. If god forbid you and the significant other were both in an untimely death-what would become of your kids? Who would you want to take custody? As unbelievable as it sounds there are situations where custody of the children may not be quite as obvious as you think-and in the case of untimely death you won’t be around to argue the point.

Other items to consider regarding a last will and testament is take make your final wishes and grant who will get what percentage of any money and property left behind. Sadly the need to give everything to your spouse may not quite as beneficial as utilizing trusts and other financial options to offset legal issues regarding estate taxation.

Think of living wills and downloadable last will and testaments as a type of before and after death with the living part clearly referring to the fact you are breathing but incapacitated while a Last Will means there are no option and you have gone to the great beyond. Living versus Last. Two Key Words in 2 Very important documents for you and your family.

A Living Will is the last written testament given by the deceased person telling their survivors what to do with their property & assets. In most states for a will to be valid it must abide by specific guidelines as to, signing, witnessing and notarizing. The requirements all vary from state to state.

You are able to make a will if you are of legal age and sound mind. All states consider legal age, eighteen years old. To determine if the person has a sound mind the law uses these guidelines: the person must understand the nature of his property the people who he would normally leave the property to, and the reasons in which he is leaving it. A person does not need to be very smart to understand these things, or be in perfect mental health. The only people who could not write a will under these circumstances are those that are moderately to severely mentally ill or deranged.

A will won’t be accepted as valid unless it meets all requirements. All wills must be in writing. Any type of photograph or video tape is not considered a valid will. Any language is valid. It must be written on a legible surface paper or anything as long as it can be read and is a fairly permanent record is acceptable.

The Will must contain the signature of the testator to be valid. It does not matter if the signature is not legible or even spelled correctly. The important aspect of the signature is that the signer intended it to be their “mark” So, an X or a dot or even a line would be valid as long as the testator meant it as their signature. This is an important concept in the matter of wills, because a person who is illiterate or paralyzed may only be able to put a dot or an X. Normally the signature should be at the end of the will, but some states will allow it to be anywhere in the will. Be sure to educate yourself on your specific state.

Most states require that the signature of the testator be witnessed by at least two witnesses. There is no need for the witnesses to know what is inside the will, only that they know it is being signed by the testator. Some states require that the witnesses be adults, others do not. But all states require that the witnesses be competent enough to understand that they may need to testify or verify they saw or know of the will being signed by the testator. The witnesses should not be in the will as beneficiaries. Nor, should the witnesses be spouses of any of the beneficiaries. The witnesses must sign that they saw the testator sign the will, or that the testator states.

All of these signatures need to take place in the presence of each other. In other words, the witnesses need to see, or confirm, the testator’s signature, and the testator must see, or affirm, the witness’s signatures. Many states provide for a “self-proving affidavit” to be included in the will. What this does is make it unnecessary for the witnesses to go to court to testify that the testator signed the will. To include a “self-proving affidavit” in the will a notary will need to be present at the time of signature to notarize the affidavit properly. Keep in mind that all states vary and you should find out which steps you need to take before preparing your last will & testament.

On this note if you are ready to take your first step to making your last will & testament to protect your assets, simply go www.createawill.com and begin your specific state low cost do it yourself will process today.