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.

Its one aspect of life no one wants to think about. While we enjoy the holidays and look forward to the joy we get from seeing our childrens smiling faces; the facts are very few people like or want to think about what would happen to them in the event of you meeting an untimely death. Are you prepared to meet the needs of your children or at least have some type of blue print for them? Taking a bit of time to prepare for their needs should be considered every bit the part of being a good parent as teaching your child to read or ride a bike. Createawill.com can make it easy!
The First basic rule to get started is to create a simple list of relatives and friends with whom you must trust. You have drawn up your list and slimmed down the candidates with whom you must trust and even took the foresight to make your final choice by creating a basic last will and testament that included the wishes with whom you chose to be a legal guardian. That is all and well but consider these additional factors when making your decisions as they are the extra step of insurance making sure your wishes can be granted in a straight forward easy to understand manner and while state have different laws; most can be found easily online as this example of a California last will and testament.

Update Annually. Lets be honest-circumstances change. Whom you felt was the best 2 years ago may no longer be the best choice for you now. Make a note on your calendar to review your will and legal guardian wishes every 2 years. Also consider the age of your children as older children have different needs than younger children. The needs of a teenager will be vastly different then the needs of a child in grade school or younger. For a teen, factoring location is important in that you may feel that keeping your teen in the same location and school district may be more important then the teen to remain with blood relatives. Based on this decision some parents may choose close and trusted family friends over blood relatives. Having a Last will and testament checklist can be a beneficial aide.

Make Provisions to assist those you have chosen to become the Legal Guardian.  Ensure that you have created support tools like life insurance, as well as all trusts and estate planning documents in place. Double check to ensure that they are set up in the manner that allows your legal guardian as many options to control your money as they need to raise your children according to your wishes. Choosing one person to handle finances with another handling guardian duties can be a slippery slope that may compromise both parties to handle those duties impartially. It may sound obvious but do not leave anything to chance.

Expect the Unexpected. If you line in a precarious and volatile family situation this issue is of critical importance in the event of divorce and other family conflicts. Consider the numerous situations and possibilities. Do you fear your ex-spouse could potentially deny your side of the family (your parents and/or siblings) from visiting your children if you die and the ex becomes sole legal guardian? If so, talk to an attorney about your options now. Otherwise, your family could face a lengthy and costly court battle. Createawill.com is your complete online resource for all last will and testament  and estate planning needs.

If you still don’t have a last will at all, beware the risks of not choosing a guardian yourself.

Wrongful death claims can be potential windfalls for revenue and typically when both parents die at the same time, it’s due to some type of tragic and horrific accident. A wrongful death suit could follow, with any resulting payment awarded to the children/child of the deceased. This lawsuit could possibly bring far and above the estate amounts cumulative value. In light of this and the flashing of dollar signs; relatives who otherwise could care less may suddenly change their minds and decide to fight for guardianship. Its not an attractive possibility-but a possibility none the less and one that must be accounted for. A last will and testament and estate plan should take all of these factors into account.

The two most prominent documents used in estate planning are a Last Will and Testament and Living Trust. Both documents can plan for your family and assets following your passing, and often the two are used together for more complete estate plan. While both can handle the bulk of your estate planning, there are differences between the two.

Last Will and Testament

A Last Will and Testament is the most basic of your estate planning documents and includes the following attributes:

• You are able to name an executor of your will to handle your wishes and estate. An executor will help work your will through the probate process and handle the distributions of your property and assets following probate fees, taxes and payment of all debts.

• You are able to list specific items or percentages of your assets as bequests to certain parties to be distributed when the parties reach a legal age.

• You are able to select a custodian for your children and their assets until they reach legal age.

• Your will be put through probate following your death and property would be held by the court until the probate process was complete and all applicable fees have been paid.

Living Trust

A Living Trust is a more advanced estate planning tool used to give you additional options for distributing your assets as well as protection from many of the fees and delays caused by probate. A Trust has the following attributes:

• You are able to assign a trustee to handle your trust following your demise or incapacity for any reason. The executor will pay all applicable taxes and debts then distribute or continue to manage your property as you’ve requested.

• You can make bequests to specific parties in any format you like. You may elect to distribute your property and accounts immediately following your passing or you can set up a plan for distribution over a span of time and with conditions you set to be sure your bequest is being made in a way that suits the individual and your preferences.

• You are able to select a guardian for your children until they are of legal age and for their assets until a time based on any condition you set.
• Your living trust will be managed during your lifetime and transfer to another designated trustee following your death or incapacitation with no interruptions or publicity in the court.