Why do you need a will?
Posted on 17. Mar, 2009 by emmettjones in Wills
Do you have a will or some sort of legally binding document explaining what is to happen with your assets after you pass away? If not, you should really be thinking about at least creating a simple will,unless you’d want to potentially have your property go to other people after your death.
What exactly happens if you don’t have a will? Lets look at some examples:
General Rule: In Pennsylvania, those who are without a will (or, “Intestate”) have their property pass by an intestacy statute. The intestacy statute simply looks at those relatives in closest relation to you, and disperses your property to that relative upon your death.
- Generally, if you feel compelled to leave your property to your favorite cousin after death, but you still have a brother who is alive? You need a will to specifically devise your property to your cousin, otherwise he would receive nothing upon your death.
- Unmarried people that co-habitate with another person would also need a will if they planned on giving their property to their partner. Again, the intestacy statute dictates that those relatives in closed relation to you receive your property. Without a legal marriage, your partner is not related to you and would miss out on any property disbursement from your estate.
- In situations where both parents are no longer living and their are minor children involved, sans a guardian being appointed by will, the courts would step in and appoint a guardian that would have control over all decisions in the childrens’ lives (i.e. health care, education, finances, etc.).
- In some states (i.e. Pennsylvania), spouses do not receive the entire share of the deceased spouse’s property upon death. Instead, in a situation where the deceased spouse had individually owned property and no will, the living spouse would take a percentage (The first $30,000 + 50% of what’s left in PA), and the rest of the property would be split amongst the children in equal shares. If the children are minor children, the court will appoint a guardian over their portion of the decedent spouse’s property. NOTE: In Pennsylvania, the courts WILL NOT appoint the surviving spouse as guardian.
Proper estate planning with an attorney can help you prevent these sort of situations from arising. If you’re interested in a free consultation, use the contact page. Feel free to peruse the site for more information regarding wills, estates, and trusts.
