Last Will & Testament

November 3, 2007

A Last Will and Testament is your written statement of what will happen to your estate when you die.  Your “estate” is comprised of all of the assets which you own in your name alone or as a tenant in common with one or more persons.  Your Will only affects those assets which have no joint ownership with rights of survivorship and which have no endorsement (benefactor designation) which makes the asset payable on death to another.  Common examples of assets that a Will will not act on, include: life insurance that has a beneficiary designation other than your estate; individual owned brokerage accounts or bank accounts, that have a transfer on death designation; tax-deferred retirement accounts (IRA’s, 401(k)’s. . .) that have a beneficiary designation; and real estate where title is held either by tenants by the entirety or as joint tenants with rights of survivorship.  No matter what the will says, these kinds of assets are not subject to the Will’s terms.  When you die, your Will is submitted to the Probate Court, for processing, typically where you last resided.  This begins the probate process.  Probate is also required if you die without a Will and the asset is still in your individual name.  This circumstance is called intestate and it simply means that the state has written a default Will for you.

Posted by Dan Dorsch | Filed Under Wills & Trusts, Estate Planning, Blog 

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