| The year was 1981, the state was Florida, and I had | | | | her paycheck in their savings account in the |
| just flown back from Germany for my father's funeral. | | | | expectation of them having that money in their senior |
| My sister and her family were down from New York, | | | | years. The laws of the State of Florida said that she |
| and, a few days after the funeral, we were sitting with | | | | no longer had an unchallenged claim to that house or |
| my mother in a lawyer's office in downtown | | | | money.Setting aside just a few minutes to visit a |
| Pensacola. My mother had just learned that she didn't | | | | lawyer or fill out a legal Will form is simply smart estate |
| have any say over what happened to the money she | | | | planning. A Last Will and Testament will guarantee that |
| and my father had saved over the years, and she | | | | your family receives the assets of your estate in the |
| didn't have any control over what happened to the | | | | manner you desire when the time comes. Why allow |
| house they had paid for together. She was at the | | | | the uncertain vagaries of state laws and the decisions |
| mercy of the State of Florida because my father had | | | | of someone who knows nothing of you or your family |
| died intestate - without a Last Will & | | | | affect your spouse's finances or your children's |
| Testament.Fortunately, she and my father had raised | | | | finances after you die?Creating a legal Last Will and |
| their children well. All that was required was for my | | | | Testament document allows you, the maker of the |
| sister and me to sign a paper relinquishing our claims to | | | | Will, to specify exactly who is to receive the assets of |
| any part of the estate. Had we not signed, however, | | | | your estate. Creating a Will shortens any legal |
| the estate, including the house, all the money in savings, | | | | processes exponentially, as the only major question |
| and the $40,000.00 in Certificates of Deposit would | | | | remaining before the distribution of assets is the |
| have been divided among the three of us. That was | | | | authenticity of the Will, which can easily be proven by |
| the law, and that was the result of my father not | | | | the signature of the Notary. Creating a Will removes |
| having a will.My sister and I did not hesitate for an | | | | nearly all questions about the distribution of the assets |
| instant. We signed without any problem, but how many | | | | of an estate and speeds the transfer of those assets |
| families could say that all the possible heirs would be | | | | to the designated survivors.Even though the obvious |
| so compliant and agreeable? Even worse, each state | | | | value of having a will may fall victim to a person's |
| has its own way of dealing with the distribution of | | | | uncertainty about choosing a lawyer, or the costs |
| assets to the heirs of someone who dies without a | | | | associated with hiring an attorney, there are many |
| last will and testament.There are a lot of options | | | | other options available today. Many office supply |
| available in addition to the commonplace will for | | | | stores have forms for a Last Will and Testament, and |
| protecting the distribution of assets upon someone's | | | | there are many sites on the internet where you can |
| death, including such things as living trusts, but the Last | | | | find forms, software, or services which will help you |
| Will & Testament still ranks as one of the simplest and | | | | prepare a perfectly legal Will for a fraction of what an |
| best ways of insuring that your heirs will get what you | | | | attorney would charge. You can even write your own |
| want them to get without the intervention of courts | | | | will if you wish, but be aware that it is easy to say the |
| and lawyers. Taking that for a fact, a Last Will & | | | | wrong thing if you are not aware of the requirements |
| Testament is one of the most important legal | | | | of the law, and a good form or software program will |
| documents a person can create during his or her | | | | help protect you against most simple errors. Of course, |
| lifetime: it is the document that determines who | | | | someone with a large estate, or someone with a |
| receives the assets of that person upon his or her | | | | complicated distribution problem should contact an |
| death.The laws of most states are designed to | | | | attorney rather than attempting to prepare a Last Will |
| provide the assets of an estate first to the surviving | | | | and Testament themselves.The author is retired from |
| spouse and then to any children of that person if the | | | | the Army after 21 years of service. He has worked |
| spouse is no longer living, but this hierarchy of | | | | as an accountant, purchasing agent, optical lab |
| distribution is not always guaranteed. Indeed, in our | | | | manager, restaurant manager, instructor and long-haul, |
| case, all three of us, my mother, my sister, and I were | | | | over-the-road truck driver. He has been a member of |
| considered to be equal in our claims upon the estate. | | | | Mensa for several years, and has written and |
| When you think about it, my mother and father had | | | | published poetry, essays, and articles on various |
| paid for the house without any help from us, and for | | | | subjects for the last 40 years. He has been an active |
| most of the years she had worked as a grade school | | | | internet marketer since 2000, and now makes his living |
| teacher, my mother had willingly put every penny of | | | | online. |