Pros And Cons Of Having A Last Will

In today's world, people want to avoid probate like they want to avoid the plague. It is true that probate is more expensive in terms of time and money than reasonable estate planning. For those who don't know, probate the judicial process by which the property of a deceased person is distributed to those who are entitled to it; the heirs or beneficiaries.

The first notion to dispel is the idea that a Last Will avoids probate. In fact, a Last Will is a ticket to probate. The Last Will is there to guide the executor or personal representative and the Court how to distribute the assets of the deceased. Not having a Last Will leads to probate as well; although there are some exceptions for small estates..

The way to get around probate is to execute "non-probate transfers." If a person has successfully executed non probate transfers for all of his or her property, a Last Will, at least with respect to the property, is unnecessary. However, often times individuals do not make arrangements for ALL of their property and in this case, the Last Will acts as a safety net for the property that has not been accounted for.
Failure to have a Last Will in a situation where property was not otherwise disposed of, will result in an application of the intestate succession rules. These rules are provided by State law. With some variation the State succession rules will distribute property to the spouse and kids first. As such, it accomplishes the goals of most