Writing a will

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Mad Professor

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I advise having a will but:

An improperly prepared will can cause more problems than not having one.

A will needs to be reviewed and updated to ensure it still meets your intentions.

If you own property in other stares, you need to ensure it complies with that state also.
 
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Preacherman

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Thank you guys for all your suggestions. It is actually for myself and I am in a unique situation. As in I have never been married and I do not have any children. I'm pretty sure that my sister and brother would get everything. I just want to make sure that the state does not. :)
 

Mad Professor

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Thank you guys for all your suggestions. It is actually for myself and I am in a unique situation. As in I have never been married and I do not have any children. I'm pretty sure that my sister and brother would get everything. I just want to make sure that the state does not. :)

It is almost impossible for the state to get it. That is a common fallacy.

Below is the statute. Still, you should place it where you want and under you conditions.


B. Beginning July 1, 1985, if any person having title to any estate not otherwise limited by any
antenuptial marriage contract dies without disposing of the estate by will, such estate descends
and shall be distributed in the following manner:
1. If the decedent leaves a surviving spouse, the share of the estate passing to said spouse is:
a. if there is no surviving issue, parent, brother or sister, the entire estate, or
b. if there is no surviving issue but the decedent is survived by a parent or parents, brother or
sister:
(1) all the property acquired by the joint industry of the husband and wife during coverture, and
(2) an undivided onethird (1/3) interest in the remaining estate, or
c. if there are surviving issue, all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse: undivided onehalf (1/2) interest in all the property of the estate whether acquired by the joint
industry of the husband and wife during coverture or otherwise, or
d. if there are surviving issue, one or more of whom are not also issue of the surviving spouse:
(1) an undivided onehalf (1/2) interest in the property acquired by the joint industry of the
husband and wife during coverture, and
(2) an undivided equal part in the property of the decedent not acquired by the joint industry of
the husband and wife during coverture with each of the living children of the decedent and the
lawful issue of any deceased child by right of representation;
2. The share of the estate not passing to the surviving spouse or if there is no surviving spouse,
the estate is to be distributed as follows:
a. in undivided equal shares to the surviving children of the decedent and issue of any deceased
child of the decedent by right of representation, or
b. if there is no surviving issue, to the surviving parent or parents of the decedent in undivided
equal shares, or
c. if there is no surviving issue nor parent, in undivided equal shares to the issue of parents by
right of representation, or
d. if there is no surviving issue, parent, nor issue of parents, but the decedent is survived by one
or more grandparents or issue of any grandparent, half of the estate passes equally to the paternal
grandparents if both survive, or to the surviving paternal grandparent, or to the issue of any
paternal grandparent if both paternal grandparents are deceased, the issue taking equally if they
are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent, but if of unequal degree those of more
remote degree take by representation and the other half passes to the maternal relatives in the
same manner; but if the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or issue of
grandparents on only one side of the family, paternal or maternal, the entire estate shall pass to
such survivors in the manner set forth in this subsection, or
e. if there is no surviving issue, parent, issue of parents, grandparent, nor issue of a grandparent,
the estate passes to the next of kin in equal degree;
3. If the decedent leaves no spouse, issue, parent, issue of parents, grandparent, issue of a
grandparent, nor kindred, then the estate shall escheat to the state for the support of the common
schools; and
4. For the purpose of this section, the phrase "by right of representation" means the estate is to
be divided into as many equal shares as there are surviving heirs in the nearest degree of kinship
and deceased persons in the same degree who left issue who survive the decedent, each surviving
heir in the nearest degree receiving one equal share and the equal share of each deceased person in the same degree being divided among his issue in the same manner. The word "issue" means
lineal descendants.
 

CHenry

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Thank you guys for all your suggestions. It is actually for myself and I am in a unique situation. As in I have never been married and I do not have any children. I'm pretty sure that my sister and brother would get everything. I just want to make sure that the state does not. :)
I was in the same boat when I did my will. (ex wife and no kids) Mom gave me a copy of my grandmothers Will and I used the same format but changed the names. Had 2 witnesses sign it with me and thats a legal document. Now I'm about to be married again and I'll simply changed the names again and leave it all to my wife and new step kids. I also have some investments that I can designate beneficiary on those accounts. The will covers my estate and all my personal belongings which is paid for.
I didnt need a lawyer, it wasnt a difficult deal and one page only.
 

CHenry

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I was in the same boat when I did my will. (ex wife and no kids) Mom gave me a copy of my grandmothers Will and I used the same format but changed the names. Had 2 witnesses sign it with me and thats a legal document. Now I'm about to be married again and I'll simply changed the names again and leave it all to my wife and new step kids. I also have some investments that I can designate beneficiary on those accounts. The will covers my estate and all my personal belongings which is paid for.
I didnt need a lawyer, it wasnt a difficult deal and one page only.
This is true BUT the probate issue is there and there can/will be someone that will contest it and drag it out in court for a miserable amount of time.
A will prevents that as I understand it.
Also if there is unpaid debt, like a mortgage, the debtors will be liquidating the estate for their money.
 

Aries

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If I remember correctly, a will does not prevent going through probate. I assume it would shorten the time and complexity, and probably weed out false claims.

A trust does not go through probate, for most things.
 

CHenry

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If I remember correctly, a will does not prevent going through probate. I assume it would shorten the time and complexity, and probably weed out false claims.

A trust does not go through probate, for most things.
I think I was told by a lawyer that a Will will circumvent probate. Probate is simply the judge handling the distribution of the estate or money to those left behind, starting with the wife, if there is one, and on down if there is no wife. This is a long ass procedure especially if there are children contesting it.
A Trust is a different tool all together and there are several types of Trusts and I certainly dont know the differences. It transfers ownership. My grandmother left a Trust to transfer ownership of her farm and money to my mother and in it, it states that mother, as the owner is responsible for any taxes to be paid and the farm can be sold if she chooses but the money from said sale must be left in the Trust to be distributed evenly to us 3 grand-kids upon moms death. Dad has no right to any of it. lol Guess grandma didnt like her son in law.
I could be totally wrong about the Will and probate but I think I touched on some facts.
 

Aries

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I'm pretty sure my attorney said a will still goes through probate. It may be different if there is a living spouse, as my understanding has always been that the spouse automatically inherits everything. I don't specifically remember hearing him say that, but he did say a will still goes through probate, but still it's better to have than to not. It is much harder to contest a valid will than if none exists, or if it is unclear, so that's why I say probate is probably much quicker and less complicated with a will.

I assume this is to allow time for anyone to contest the will, but ultimately a judge declares it a valid will.

As I understand it (and I may not) a trust is its own legal entity, so everything that belongs to my trust, technically, is not owned by me personally, it is owned by the trust. As the administrator, I have complete control over how it is used, sold, etc. but it belongs to the trust, not to me. When I die, it therefore will not change hands, it will still be owned by the trust, and will be under the control of whoever the next administrator is. So whichever between me and my wife survives longest controls the trust, once the second of us passes everything STILL belongs to the trust, but the next administrator will settle everything and distribute the estate to our heirs, as directed in our will (so we have a will also, but I'm not entirely certain how that works, if it is PART of the trust, or technically how that is described). I also remember him saying that some things would still go to probate, for example if we did not transfer our cars into the trust they would be probated, but if we put them in the name of the trust, they belong to the trust and not subject to probate.

This was all a year or two ago, so I stand subject to be corrected, but that's what I remember him saying.
 

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