The Importance of Having a Will

1. Why Have a Will? 1

4. If You Die Without a Will...  Your Spouse May End Up with Less than She/He Needs.Your surviving spouse may not have enough funds to make ends meet because, for example, more money may go to your children than you wanted. In your Will, you can make sure that your spouse gets enough money to live comfortably 4

5. If You Die Without a Will...  Your Assets May Be Divided Equally Among Your Heirs. If there is no surviving spouse, your assets will be parceled out equally among your heirs. You may not want this to happen. For example, you won't be able to protect your assets from an adult child's creditors or the financial ravages of a divorce decree. Or, one adult child may be well off and not need the money while another child really could use some financial assistance. Also, you may have another family member or friend you want to help and, without a Will, it won't be possible. 5

6. If You Die Without a Will...  Your Grandchildren May Not Get a Cent.When no beneficiaries have been specified, most state courts will grant an estate's assets first to a surviving spouse, then children, often leaving out the generation after. With a Will you can allocate assets to go to grandchildren and, through a trust, you can name a guardian to manage their financial affairs until they're ready to do so on their own. 6

7. If You Die Without a Will...  Your Stepchildren May Get Nothing.Because most states define heirs as "blood" relatives, stepchildren may not be recognized as heirs. An exception may be made when a stepchild has been legally adopted. A Will, however, can insure stepchildren are not left out. 7

8. If You Die Without a Will...  You Can't Name a Guardian for Minor Children.Without a Will, you may not get the guardian you want for minor children. With neither parent alive, the grandparents are the natural guardians of minor children, but it may be up to a court to decide which set of grandparents. 8

9. If You Die Without a Will...  You Won't Be Able to Minimize Estate Taxes Your Children or Other Heirs Might Have to Pay.You and a spouse can shelter as much as $1.3 million of assets from federal estate taxes by setting up Trusts within your Wills. You'll need the help of a lawyer to draft the Wills for you. 9

10. If You Die Without a Will...  You Can't Leave Your Favorite Things to Your Favorite People.With a Will, and an adjoining Letter of Intent, you can specify who gets what. It's a good way to avoid family fights. A Letter of Intent is like a laundry list of items with the corresponding beneficiary. (Note: In some states, Letters of Intent can be changed from time to time without having to re-do the Will). 10

11. If You Die Without a Will...  You Can't Leave Contributions to a Church or Charity.State laws do not consider religious and charitable institutions as heirs. Only a Will can spell out how your money can be passed to non-heirs and insure your favorite charity gets a donation. 11

12. If You Die Without a Will...  Your Loved One Could Lose His/Her Benefits.You may cause a problem if money ends up going to a parent or other family member who's being cared for by Medicaid in a nursing facility. Medicaid has strict income qualifications. The added income may disqualify your loved one for continuing to receive benefits. 12

13. THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A WILL You need a Will. You will also need a properly qualified and licensed attorney to assist you in drafting that Will. Forget the "Do-It-Yourself Forms" that comes under the category of "risking a lot for a little." The article featured below paraphrases what could happen to your family and your assets if your probate estate has to be distributed under the provisions of the probate code of your state of residence. It is adapted from the "No Will" Will that appeared in a publication of the Chicago Title and Trust Company, many, many years ago. It is intended to emphasize the importance of having a Will drafted. By all means, do not do your loved ones a disservice of dying without having a Will. YOUR "NO WILL" WILLWritten for You by Your State of Residence I hereby do make, publish and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament by failing to have a Will of my choice prepared. FIRST ARTICLE I give my wife only one-half of my possessions, and I give my child or children the remaining one-half. If my wife is not living, all goes to the children, (or their children if they are not living), equally. If I have no spouse or no children, then all I have is to go to my parents, double share if only one is living, and to my brothers and sisters equally, or to the children of any deceased brothers and sisters. I appoint my wife as guardian of my children, but as a safeguard, I require that she report to the Probate Court each year and render an accounting of how, why and where she spent the money necessary for the proper care of my children. As a further safeguard, I direct my wife to produce to the Probate Court a Performance Bond to guarantee that she exercises proper judgment in the handling, investing and spending of the children's money. As a final safeguard, my children shall have the right to demand and receive a complete accounting from their mother of all of her financial actions with their money as soon as they reach legal age. When my children reach age eighteen, they shall have full rights to withdraw and spend their share of my estate. No one shall have any right to question my children's actions on how they decide to spend their respective shares. SECOND ARTICLE Should my wife remarry, her second husband shall be entitled to his marital share of everything my wife possesses. Should my children need some of this share for their support, the second husband shall not be bound to spend any part of his share on my children's behalf. The second husband shall have the sole right to decide who is to get his share, even to the exclusion of my children. THIRD ARTICLE Should my wife predecease me, or die while any of my children are minors, I do not wish to exercise my right to nominate the guardian of my children. Rather than nominating a guardian of my preference, I direct my relatives and friends to get together and select a guardian by mutual agreement. In the event that they fail to agree on a guardian, I direct the Probate Court to make the selection. If the court wishes, it may appoint a stranger acceptable to it. FOURTH ARTICLE Under existing tax law, there are certain legitimate avenues open to me to lower death taxes. Since I prefer to have my money used for governmental purposes rather than for the benefit of my family, I direct that no effort be made to lower taxes. No Signature Required Source: Ben Baldwin,The Complete Book of Insurance, 1989 13

14. SynergiaBusiness Presentations Joaquin “Duke” G. Wilwayco8301 Ephraim Road, Austin, TX 78717Phone: (512) 799-2999 Fax: (512) 671-6377Email: dgwilwayco@aol.com