Make A Will

 

When it Comes Down to Wills and Trusts Don't Be Naive - Family Dynamics Change Quickly
By Lance Winslow Platinum Quality Author

 

 

 

 

Indeed, most families believe that when their parents die that the kids will get along, divide up everything, and everything will be fine, and in a few rare cases that's true, but that is not the common occurrence. What usually happens is one of the offspring's is upset with the deal, wants their money given to them in a lump sum, or another offspring that is put in charge of distribution, likes to take a little bit more than they're supposed to, and they always have all sorts of justifications for doing so. And if you think this can happen in your family, the statistics are very much against you.

In fact, it usually happens in families that think it won't, even more than families that believe it might. What I'd recommend to you, and I can't stress this enough, is that you get everything in order, make sure the Wills, and Trusts are updated, and also realize that the laws change often enough, meaning you had better stay up with things, or you'll end up paying way more taxes than you had anticipated, and in the end there will not be very much to divide up anyway.

You see, when it comes to trusts and Wills, you can be naive, and you must understand that family dynamics can change very quickly. Especially when you start adding in spouses, grandkids, and the lawyers, and let me tell you, probate is no fun; you don't want to go there. It is extremely important that you get with a financial planner, antitrust attorney, and work out all the details and put it all into writing.

What you do now could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions of dollars depending on the size of the estate and the associated taxes, and problems later. Just because your family gets along, and that you've always gotten along, doesn't mean those family dynamics will be intact after the folks die. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is the Founder of the Online Think Tank, a diverse group of achievers, experts, innovators, entrepreneurs, thinkers, futurists, academics, dreamers, leaders, and general all around brilliant minds. Lance Winslow hopes you've enjoyed today's discussion and topic. http://www.WorldThinkTank.net. Have an important subject to discuss, contact Lance Winslow.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lance_Winslow |

Make Will

 

Advance Planning - The Advantages Of Living Wills
By Sharon Hurley Hall Platinum Quality Author

 

 

 

 

 

Nowadays, there are many treatments which offer patients with serious or terminal illnesses the chance to live longer. However, in some cases, these treatments may offer little or no chance of full recovery. They may have side effects that could be considered worse than the illness or leave the person in a condition he or she would find unbearable. You may feel strongly that you do not want to go through this
treatment to make you live longer. However, in the future you may not be physically or mentally able to make the decision or talk to your doctors about what you want, for example, if you were in a deep coma or suffered serious dementia. That's why you should consider an advance directive.

What is an Advance Directive?

An advance directive (often known as a Living Will or 'Advance Refusal') allows you to state which treatments you would or would not want if you became seriously ill in the future and could not say what you wanted to happen. Some people confuse the issue of refusing treatment under an advance directive with voluntary euthanasia. The two issues, although related, are separate. If you make an advance directive you are asking doctors not to give you certain medical treatments. Voluntary euthanasia is when you ask the doctor to deliberately end your life and is illegal in the UK.

What does a Living Will cover?

Through advance statements, patients have a legal right to decline specific treatment, including life-prolonging treatment. Patients cannot use advance statements to insist on the provision of certain treatments but they may authorise or refuse treatments.

Who is responsible for preparing an Advance Directive?

Drafting an advance statement is the patient's responsibility. If necessary seek advice from your general practitioner or health professional. It is the patient's responsibility to ensure that the existence of an advance statement is known to those who may be asked to comply with its provisions.

What if I can't express my wishes myself?

No person has a legal right to accept or decline treatment on behalf of another adult. However, the BMA recognises that the nomination of a health care proxy by the patient may be another helpful development in communicating the patient's views when the individual is no longer capable of expressing these.

Do doctors have to do what I say?

Doctors with a conscientious objection to curtailing treatment are not obliged to comply with an advance statement but must be ready to step aside. The British Medical Association (BMA) strongly supports the principle of an advance statement.

How do I get a Living Will?

Talk to your financial planner about drawing up your Living Will at the same time as preparing your Will. It is strongly recommended that patients review their advance statements at regular intervals, and destroy rather than amend the statement.

Want more tips on freelance writing, blogging and promotion? Visit Get Paid To Write Online for FREE information and resources which will kick start your writing career. Sharon Hurley Hall is a professional freelance writer, ghostwriter and blogger. Contact her now for well-written, timely web content writing.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sharon_Hurley_Hall |

 

Online Wills

 

Your Indispensable Guide to Writing Wills
By Stephen G Hunt

When it comes to writing a will, many people are cowed by the perceived complexity of the process and the volume of legal jargon involved. Furthermore, contemplating death is not a pleasant experience and this is why many people delay writing a will until eventually it is too late.

Investing the time and effort to write a will, or the money if you get someone else to do it for you, is absolutely worthwhile for the stress that it will save your loved ones later.

The result of somebody dying without making a will is called intestacy, and in this scenario the fate of your money and possessions will end up at the mercy of the Administration of Estates Act of 1925. Consequently some things may end up in the hands of highly undesirable people. Furthermore, if you don't have any relatives your estate will effectively be gobbled up by the state.

Many married couples fall into the trap of believing that even without a will, everything will be automatically transferred to their partner upon death. It is in actuality quite misguided to expect the law to do everything for you, as well as foolish considering that you can have your wishes defined with precision by a will. In actual fact, in the case of married couples with children without a will the spouse only stands to inherit personal items and an initial £250,000, while the rest is divided into two halves. One half is handed over to the children when they
reach the age of 18, while the other can be benefited from by the spouse but cannot be spent, and the proceeds must be passed on to the children - e.g. a house can be lived in by the surviving spouse but must be passed on to the children on their death, or money goes into a savings account, allowing the spouse to make use of any money accrued through interest but leaving the initial savings intact for the children to inherit in future.

Couples that merely live together are on even more shaky ground, as upon one partner's death the other has no automatic right to inheritance without a will. As more and more modern couples are eschewing marriage, this makes the importance of wills even greater.

Something else you would be ill-advised to leave to the courts is the decision as to who would look after children in the event of both parents passing away. Setting this out in a will gives the reassurance that children will be looked after by a trustworthy guardian.

Your hands are severely tied without a will - if you do not have one then you will be unable to leave a donation to a charity or bequeath a treasured possession.

By now you should be convinced that writing a will is a necessity. If so, then your first consideration should probably be whom you nominate to perform the various roles relating to your will. Executors are the people invested with the responsibility of carrying out the instructions of the will, so it is vital that you elect someone trustworthy. Naturally the executor should also be expected to outlive the maker of the will.

Executors will ideally also be well-informed about financial matters, but many people prefer to choose a close acquaintance or relative and permit them to enlist the help of legal experts when necessary. Another protagonist in the process is the trustee, which is somebody who is there to safeguard part of an estate for the beneficiary to whom it will ultimately be conferred. An example of when a trustee would be called upon is where a property is left for a child too young to bear the burden of taking control of it. Other people needed are witnesses, who are required by law to oversee the signing of the will, as the name might suggest. The criteria that must be met by a witness are quite stringent - they cannot be a beneficiary or the spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary, nor can they be younger than 18 years old.

Once you have identified all of these people, the next thing you need to do is draw up a list of everything you own. Writing everything down will allow you to better visualize the extent of your estate and how best to divide it among your beneficiaries. Make sure that you are thorough and don't allow anything to slip your mind.

This list will also help the person you choose to write your will to identify any areas where tax could be saved. If you want a solid, incontrovertible and legally-binding will then you should hire a legal expert to do this for you. The average fee for such a service is around £200, which may sound steep, but due to the complexity and importance of will writing, it is probably a worthwhile investment. If possible,
find a solicitor who is well-versed in the pertinent fields of law, such as tax. However, make sure that you check first whether or not you qualify for Legal Aid either because of your financial situation or because you are over 70 years of age.

You may encounter do-it-yourself will forms sold either online or at the post office or at stationers. While they may be enticing because of the money saved, in reality people attempting to write wills for themselves are very susceptible to mistakes, which will cause a lot of hassle further down the line, and will be costly to amend. Others may be simply bamboozled by the dense technical jargon. Some purport to enable you to knock up a will in a matter of minutes, but wills are surely something which deserves far more care and attention than that.

For these reasons, it is advisable to hire a solicitor. It may be a lot more expensive but the peace of mind and alleviation of stress are more than worth it. To find a specialist will solicitor in your area go to the Law Society, which has an excellent Find a Solicitor service.

If you do hire a solicitor, ask them to send you a copy of their fees sheet so that you know what you will be paying in advance. Also demand a copy of their public liability insurance certificate.

With respect to other issues such as funeral arrangements and what you want to be done with your body, these are best left in a separate document called a wish list. If you keep this distinct from your will then it will be less cumbersome to modify later.

About the author: Stephen G Hunt is part of the News Team at Claims Financial.

Claims Financial are consumer law experts specializing in reclaiming unfair charges and offering free online legal advice.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_G_Hunt |

 

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Living Wills, Trusts, and Probate
By Gregory Gay

A living will conveys the difference between life in the 20th century and life in the 21st century. More rights are available to a person signing a living will in current times than that of a decade ago. Thus, everyone needs to have the proper living will in hand.

You need a trust, so that assets you haven't conveyed won't become subject to probate. The personal representative in charge of the probate is entitled to receive compensation from the estate assets for his or her services. You don't want the personal representative to receive more compensation than warranted, and you don't want his or her attorney to get involved in compensation from a formal estate
administration. In probate, a personal representative must take possession of all the deceased person's property. Thus, you do not want this person to seize control of your possessions and distribute them to the wrong people.

A new law took effect, which states that there cannot be non-judicial modification of a trust. You want to have an updated trust, so that the trustee and other living beneficiaries don't modify it. Another reason for having a trust is to ensure that your car will go to the proper person and place. You wouldn't want a beneficiary named in your Last Will and Testament to apply for the motor vehicle certificate title and gain unlawful ownership of your vehicle.

 

Wills UK

 

Importance of Living Wills
By Marcus Peterson

The concept of a living will was first put forward by Louis Kustner in the year 1969. Available statistics indicate that less than a quarter of the American population has a living will. However, an overwhelming number of people have responded to the idea of having one created. This can be attributed to the awareness, interest and even outrage generated by the Teri Schiavo incident, which managed to occupy the front pages of newspapers across the country for several weeks. A controversy was created when the court passed the final verdict, ordering her life support systems to be removed. It has been argued that what happened to Teri Schiavo was unfair and that she should have had a say in her medical treatment. This event acted as an eye opener to several people.

The significance:

The significance of a living will cannot be underestimated. It acts as a custodian of a patient's self esteem while he or she is fighting a losing battle with a disease. It helps to relieve family members, who are already in an emotional turmoil, from the dilemma of making extremely difficult decisions for their near and dear ones who are suffering from an incurable disease. Differences of opinion among family and friends of a victim can lead to disputes and contribute to unpleasantness.

Living wills can also prove to be a blessing in disguise for the doctors. Very often, doctors find it hard to discuss with their patients the grave nature of their health or the slim chances of recovery. A living will helps to facilitate a smooth dialogue between both the parties.

A living will can be made keeping in mind both religious and financial considerations. It sometimes serves as the only connection between a person who is oblivious to the world around him and his caretakers.

Living Wills [http://www.i-LivingWills.com] provides detailed information on Living Wills, Importance Of Living Wills, Living Will Forms, Free Living Will Forms and more. Living Wills is affiliated with How to Write a Will.

 

Probate Will

 

Contesting Wills
By Kevin S Longworth Platinum Quality Author

Contesting Wills is becoming increasingly common, due in part no doubt to the increased media exposure of some court cases and the increased level of awareness that this brings. These cases often create distress and heartache for the families of the deceased and may lead to family members falling out with each other.

But why the surge in these court cases?

There are various challenges that can be made to a Will, the most common being that an individual feels that reasonable provision has not been made for them by the deceased, that the deceased was not of sound mind when they made the Will or that the deceased was influenced by a third party when deciding upon the content of their Will.

And the increased wealth of individuals, partly due to the boom in property prices, widens the playing field for claims to be made involving Wills.

In theory people are entitled to leave their possessions to whoever they wish however in practice these wishes may be subject to challenge. This means that an estate may not always be distributed in the way it was intended as there could be a risk, for example, that a dependant or family member might make a valid claim against the estate for a proportion of it.

Wills can be challenged in a number of ways although one of the most common methods is through the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which allows certain people to be given 'reasonable provision' from a Will. Individuals making such claims need to satisfy the court that they were financially dependent on the deceased before death and that an inadequate provision has been made for
them.

In addition, a will can be contested on the basis that:
• it was a forgery
• it was the result of undue influence: for example, a third party exerted pressure on the person making the will to include clauses that they would otherwise not have included
• lack of testamentary capacity: it is essential that the person making the Will understands the purpose of making a Will, the extent of the assets which they have to gift under their Will, and that they appreciate the people that they ought to consider when deciding the distribution of their assets.
• lack of due execution: for example, the Will was not witnessed properly.

So how can you minimise any risk of legal action involving your estate?

You should always consider your moral obligations to any dependants you have, including family members. Always make sure you have two witnesses to your will and if you have a mental illness, or you are elderly, you should have your doctor act as a witness. Make sure that witnesses to your Will are independent and never have a beneficiary, their spouse or partner witness your Will as this will invalidate any gift to that person made in your Will.

Finally, ensure you are making your Will of your own volition and that no one is putting undue pressure on you to make a particular gift or to leave the bulk of your estate to him or her. If you are in doubt, consider discussing your Will with your beneficiaries so that they know what you are planning to happen to your assets on your death.

It is crucial to seek professional legal advice to ensure all these considerations are taken into account and to make sure your will is properly drafted. This will help to minimise the risk of your will being contested when you die and of creating additional problems if your estate requires probate before it can be administered.

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