Will Basics

March 20, 2014. While we certainly move in the sphere of more complex topics here at Trust Law Counsel, we also do try to come down to Earth occasionally. In the interest of National Nutrition Month—perhaps unknown next to the slightly more renowned and much more important March Madness—we will be getting nutritional basics of estate planning. We will be addressing some of the core components for making your estate plan whole and healthy. To begin, a Will.

A Will is your start. The first course. It is a usually straight-forward document that basically lets it be known how you want your property passed on. You get to decide what items you want to go to which people. It essentially gives you control over what happens to your property when you die; which is something you don’t have when you die without a Will. It also only takes effect at death, not before, which means that you can change it with some effort at any time up until you die. Once you die, though, a Will needs to be submitted to the court, and eventually watched over as the Will is administered, or in other words, obeyed. The term for this is probate. Because of this, because it is being run through the courts, the Will becomes a public document. So, anyone with the desire can figure out what it is you did with your stuff and who you gave it to. It should also be known that administering a Will takes times, again because the process moves with the urgency of the court system. Eighteen months to wrap up a Will and finally get property where it is supposed to go is common. The probate process is also more expensive because it incurs probate court fees and attorney fees; fees that as a rule of thumb can reach two percent of the total value of everything you are passing on.

So, again, the Will is a start, and not a bad one. It is a one-shot, that lets you succinctly decide who you want to receive your property. It gives control, but not as much as you could have, and there are inefficiencies and costs. The answer to some of these inadequacies is a Trust; another step up the planning palate. But that is for next week.

For more information about will basics or estate planning, contact the Goosmann Trust Law Counsel at info@goosmannlaw.com or call 712-226-4000.