Wills

I will take Indiana. This story from the Times of London, Wills injustice: fit for Dickens?, is worth reading if only to make us appreciate what we got. Here is the key difference between dying intestate (without a Will) in Indiana and in England: Indiana would have let this spouse take only 25% of the estate while in England the surviving spouse got everything.

Do not think I am suggesting that dying intestate is a good thing. It is not. It is just a bit better here than in England.

The Madison County Clerk issued a notice this week that as of April 16, 2007, Wills need to be on letter sized paper. If on legal size, a copy needs to be made on standard sized paper.

If my memory serves me at all today, the state rules required letter sized paper since some time in the early or mid- Nineties. Nothing mentioned about Wills. I have not used legal sized paper for anything for years and I wonder how many have used legal sized paper for their Wills in the past ten years.

Which then raises a question, if lawyers do not use legal sized paper is calling it legal sized quite correct?

Thanks to Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog for pointing out this USA Today article Get yourself a will: Here's a way.

I am a bit more critical of the newspaper article than was the Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog . Having usual depth of USA Today, the article explains very little about the do-it-yourself Will products featured in the story. Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog's Self-Help Estate Planning Techniques Publicized faults the article for this:
I also find the article using the word "drafting" without explaining more scary.
Why scary? Because drafting is the least dangerous point for the do-it-yourself crowd. Execution's dangers go completely unmentioned.

The best uses for a Will drafting software package are these:

1. To get the person using the software to think about how they want to plan their estate.
2. To present a written plan for an attorney to work off of.

Somebody asked me about notarizing a Will. Wills have a particular way of signing for them to be legal. The person executing the Will and two witnesses must sign in front of one another. Notaries do not even come into the mix.

The Utah Business, Real Estate & Estate Planning blog has a post that does a very good job explaining how to use these tools. See SHOULD YOU HAVE A WILL OR TRUST?.

I do not generally recommend a trust without having the assets for funding one.

I treat Wills differently because of two reasons. First, without anything to fund, the amount of assets do not matter. Second, I have two many clients without assets but with minor children and a Will can establish a guardianship (something a trust cannot do).

If you are an Indiana resident needing an attorney for a Will or trust, feel free to contact me.

The surviving spouse does not take everything.

If a spouse died with a Will, the law controlling this situation is IC 29-1-3-1. The surviving spouse takes one-half to one-third. How much the surviving spouse takes depends on if there are also children and if the children are from a prior marriage.

When a spouse dies without a Will, then IC 29-1-2-1 controls the issue. The same concept applies: how much the surviving spouse gets depends on if there are children and if the children are of a prior marriage.

If you do not like how IC 29-1-2-1 deals with your property, then you need to get a Will. If you have children from a prior marriage, you need a prenuptial agreement. If you are married, a post-nuptial agreement may be the solution.

If you wish to consult with me on a Will, or a prenuptial or post-nuptial agreement, please give me a call.


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