{"id":1574,"date":"2023-04-28T01:28:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T01:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/?p=1574"},"modified":"2023-04-07T19:24:35","modified_gmt":"2023-04-07T19:24:35","slug":"validating-your-will-is-important","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/validating-your-will-is-important\/","title":{"rendered":"Validating Your Will is Important"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In spite of the fact that over 50 percent of Americans find <a href=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/practice-areas\/estate-planning\/\">estate planning<\/a> important, only about 33 percent have a will.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1564 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/apr-28-in-article-pic-300x267.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"531\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/apr-28-in-article-pic-300x267.png 300w, https:\/\/law-oh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/apr-28-in-article-pic.png 588w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 531px) 100vw, 531px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.caring.com\/caregivers\/estate-planning\/wills-survey\/\">caring.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Those individuals with a will may have moved to a different state or forgot to update their will after life events such as marriage, divorce, births, and deaths, making it ineffective. One of the ways to ensure your will remains valid is to review its contents regularly with your <a href=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/practice-areas\/estate-planning\">estate planning<\/a> attorney so that it complies with your state laws and reflects your family situation.<\/p>\n<h1>Dying Without a Will<\/h1>\n<p>If a will doesn\u2019t meet the state\u2019s legal requirements, it isn\u2019t valid, which is the same as not having a will.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/i\/intestate.asp\">Intestate<\/a>\u00a0is the legal term describing a person who dies without a will or a valid will. When this happens, determining asset distribution becomes the responsibility of the state probate court. States will follow their current intestacy law, which may not reflect the decedent\u2019s wishes.<\/p>\n<p>The probate court names an administrator to compile a list of assets, pay debts, and address any state and federal taxes that must be paid by the estate.<\/p>\n<p>Then the appointed administrator establishes a hierarchy of inheritors, usually beginning with spouses followed by other close relatives being first in line to receive the decedent\u2019s assets. A court-appointed administrator charges a fee from the decedent\u2019s estate for their services.<\/p>\n<h1>The Function of a Valid <a href=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/practice-areas\/estate-planning\/wills-trusts-powers-of-attorney\/\">Will<\/a><\/h1>\n<p>A will is the most common type of estate planning document. Upon your death, it accomplishes several different things:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Designating a personal representative (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/e\/executor.asp\">executor<\/a>)<\/li>\n<li>Arranging to pay outstanding debts and taxes via the estate<\/li>\n<li>Naming and dividing property among heirs<\/li>\n<li>Establishing guardianship for minor children<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When creating their will, many individuals will add advanced directives, trusts, and other documents for a more comprehensive estate plan to manage assets if they are ill, injured, or unable to communicate their wishes.<\/p>\n<p>Legal requirements for writing a will may differ among states but include being 18 years old, having \u201ccapacity\u201d or being of sound mind, signing the document, and having two adult witnesses who also provide signatures.<\/p>\n<h1>Community Property States, Common Law States, and the Unmarried<\/h1>\n<p>Surviving spouses in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/c\/communityproperty.asp\">community property<\/a>\u00a0state are considered joint owners of any maritally acquired property and entitled to at minimum half of the decedent&#8217;s estate. However, depending on the court&#8217;s determination, they can receive less or more than half or even the entire estate if there are no surviving children or grandchildren.<\/p>\n<p>As of 2022, there are seven\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/worldpopulationreview.com\/state-rankings\/common-law-marriage-states\">common law marriage<\/a>\u00a0states plus\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Washington,_D.C\">Washington, DC<\/a>. Some states will only recognize common law marriages in relationships formed before a certain date. Additionally, some states that don&#8217;t permit common-law marriage still recognize this marriage type contracted from other states. Speaking with an estate planning attorney to determine your legal status is important.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;re in a relationship without legal marital status, the easiest way to provide for your partner is through joint tenants with the right of survivorship accounts (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/j\/jtwros.asp\">JTWROS<\/a>) and payable-on-death accounts (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/p\/payableondeath.asp\">POD<\/a>). These accounts will pass directly to the named beneficiary outside of a will and the probate process.<\/p>\n<h1>Types of Wills<\/h1>\n<p>The form and structure of a will may vary:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalzoom.com\/articles\/how-to-write-a-will\">Simple will<\/a>\u2013 This will names an executor to carry out your obligations, funeral and burial arrangements, and guardianship for minor children.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalzoom.com\/articles\/joint-last-wills-and-testaments\">Joint will<\/a>\u2013 Some married couples have one set of wishes. Some states don\u2019t recognize joint wills, and most lawyers discourage their clients from using them.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalzoom.com\/articles\/holographic-will-is-a-handwritten-will-valid\">Holographic will<\/a>\u2013 A handwritten, unwitnessed will that is only legal in some states and typically only created in emergencies where witnesses are unavailable.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalzoom.com\/articles\/what-is-a-pour-over-will\">Pour-over will<\/a>\u2013 This type of will accompanies a living trust and captures any property unintentionally left out of the living trust as a safety mechanism.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanbar.org\/groups\/gpsolo\/publications\/gpsolo_ereport\/2021\/october-2021\/electronic-wills-state-legislation\/\">Electronic will<\/a>\u2013 Some states permit remote electronically generated, signed, and stored wills.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.legalzoom.com\/articles\/10-things-you-should-know-about-a-testamentary-trust\">Testamentary trust<\/a>\u2013 This trust is part of a will and goes into effect after the decedent\u2019s probate process is complete.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/n\/nuncupativewill.asp\">Nuncupative will<\/a>&#8211; An oral or verbal will used when a person is too sick to execute a written will. This type of will is not legal in most jurisdictions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these wills is a variation of a last will and testatment and leaves instructions to follow after your death. A living will is not a last will and works differently. It outlines preferences about future healthcare treatments while you are alive and unable to communicate your wishes to loved ones or doctors.<\/p>\n<h1>Ensure Your Will is Legal<\/h1>\n<p>Laws concerning <a href=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/practice-areas\/estate-planning\/wills-trusts-powers-of-attorney\/\">wills<\/a> vary by state, and knowing your state\u2019s requirements is crucial to create a valid will. Conducting online research and creating your own will can be risky and may not meet your state\u2019s specific laws and regulations. An experienced estate planning attorney can assess your situation and determine what type of will best suits your needs. They provide you with the original will and a copy of the document to store in a safe location. Let your loved ones know where you keep your will and other associated documents.<\/p>\n<h1>Review and Update Your Will<\/h1>\n<p>You can change, update, or revoke your will at any time if you are of sound mind. Planning to revisit the document annually is a good practice, as major life events create the need to make changes more frequently than you think. If the probate court finds your will invalid, state intestacy laws take over.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to change your will, meet with our estate planning lawyers to maintain your will\u2019s validity and see if any changes to state law will affect your decisions. <a href=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/contact\/\"><strong>Contact<\/strong><\/a> <strong>our office at <\/strong><a href=\"tel:%207409477277\"><strong>(740) 947-7277<\/strong><\/a><strong> and schedule a free consultation to discuss your legal matters. <\/strong><strong>We look forward to the opportunity to work with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In spite of the fact that over 50 percent of Americans find estate planning important, only about 33 percent have a will. caring.com Those individuals with a will may have moved to a different state or forgot to update their will after life events such as marriage, divorce, births, and deaths, making it ineffective. One&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1565,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15,25,86,38],"post_series":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Validating Your Will is Important - Seif &amp; McNamee<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Only about 33 percent of Americans have a will, despite the fact that more than 50% think estate planning is important.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/law-oh.com\/validating-your-will-is-important\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Validating Your Will is Important - Seif &amp; 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