Leaving a LegacyWhere there's a will...
Planning a financial covenant
The cornerstone of estate planning is the making of a will. Usually the will states that it is your “Last Will and Testament.” It says “last will” because generally people make a series of wills during their lifetime as the ages of children or circumstances change. The word testament comes from the Greek word which means covenant. It is easy to see how the New Testament of the Bible means the New Covenant but it is not so obvious to most people how their will is a covenant.
In my last column (Feb/Mar 2004 issue of Legacy), I discussed how we are stewards of the property and persons the Lord has entrusted to us for safekeeping. Part of our responsibilities as stewards is to pass what has been entrusted to us to responsible successor stewards. This is part of our covenant with the Lord. We are also making a covenant in the will with those successor stewards in the carrying out of the stewardship.
From a legal standpoint a will provides the blueprint to the stewards (usually called executor, personal representative, guardian, trustee, etc.) that you appoint to carry out your instructions. A will instructs the Probate Court in how the estate should be administrated and divided. Wills are governed by state law so the legal requirements vary from state to state as to what constitutes a valid will.
Do it right! To preserve your wishes – generally, you will want an attorney to prepare your will to be sure it is done correctly. Remember after you’re gone it is too late to correct mistakes in the will. I have seen too many families fight and split up over disputes and litigation over estates where the will was incomplete or poorly thought out. The last thing you want to be remembered for is broken family relationships because you didn’t think the will was important enough to do correctly or keep up to date.
Many of my clients have come to me with the mistaken belief that if you die without a will your property goes to the state. That is not true but it is true that the state has made a will for you. In most states that will is called the intestacy statute; it specifies to whom and in what proportions your estate goes if you die intestate (without a will). Most people are not going to be happy with the will the state has made, thus the need to make your own will.
Don’t Procrastinate! For some reason people seem to procrastinate about making a will. I can’t tell you how many times I get calls from people who are taking a long trip the day after tomorrow and need a will. In some cases they have stopped at my office to sign the will literally on the way to the airport. A will is far too important either to be put off or to do hastily.
Over the years many people have told me they don’t need a will because everything they have is in joint names with their spouse or someone else. I answer that if both of you die together there will be a real question of where the property goes. Also if they are killed in an accident their estate may be entitled to compensation but who then prosecutes the action and who is entitled to the compensation?
I once had an elderly client who for years put off making a will because there were little details she had trouble finalizing. I knew the basic outline of what she wanted and tried to convince her to at least get the basics in the will and we would fill in those details later. But no, she wouldn’t do it. The last time I saw her was about a tax matter and as she left I again asked her about her will. She again said she wasn’t ready. On her way home from my office she was killed in a subway accident. Her estates was much larger than she anticipated because of the claim against the transit authority and I know for a fact that her estate was not even remotely distributed the way she would have wanted because we had to use the will the state made for her since she never made her own.... More>>Next Page >>
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