Emily was on the couch grumbling and feeling cheated over a family issue, and all of a sudden she shouted in anger; "I hate my father!". Her mother rushed down to the sitting room and broke in tears while trying to soothe her with some words. They never knew that her father had an heir to his inheritance until his will was read after his demise, and this made the house a cluster of thorns for the two women because the house they live in has been transfered to Jasmine a male child given birth to by a concubine to Emily's father.
A will or testament is a legal document by which a person, the testator, expresses his or her wishes as to how his or her property is to be distributed at death, and names one or more persons, the executor, to manage the estate until its final distribution. It's often seen in some families especially a polygamous family how rifts erupt after the demise of the head of the family who most times has the larger chunk of properties in the family and this often tears the family apart. These rifts often crop up after the will must have been read or failure of the owner of the property to make a will before his or her demise which makes the deceased an intestate. This is a case where the court distributes the estate according to the rule of the state. Probate is the legal process to determine whether a will is valid and a process of transferring the property of a deceased person to the rightful heirs.
However, in a case where an argument on if spouses should have a joint will crops up, a legal advice often given is that spouses are definitely not likely to die at the same time, so to avoid uncertainties, will should be prepared separately especially in cases where we have some properties not owned jointly by the spouses.
Consequently, a living trust is somewhat mistaken for a will. Though the two contains directives on how to share a deceased property, but a trust is preferred for people operating in privacy and avoiding probate. A living trust will not become part of the public record unless a beneficiary demands court approval of accounts. Wills are commonly less expensive and less complicated than a trust. A revocable living trust is an agreement designating someone to be responsible for managing one's property. It's not revocable after the owner of the property must have passed on, but revocable while alive in cases of change in the interest of the owner.
There are different templates for writing a will which include; legal will, free will, living will, last will and testament form, digital assets, living will form, affidavit domicile, social media will, amongst others. Though many people do not need a lawyer to draft a basic will, but an experienced lawyer can provide a useful advice on estate planning strategies. In a case while a deceased died without a valid will, he or she becomes an intestate which means that the estate owned by the person will be settled based on the laws of the state that states who inherits what and how and this most times favours the current spouse.
In writing your will, so many things have to be put into consideration. After your demise, will your will unite your beneficiaries or tear them apart? These are some of the questions to consider before writing based on how one feels at some moments either to punish some or favour some. A beneficiary shouldn't be put at risk as in the case of Jasmine. Emily thinks she can contest the will of her father by going to court. Though in most cases, present spouse is often favoured, but not in the case of Emily's mother. A testator or the owner of the property has the final say, irrespective of any legal intervention which can be regarded to be a slim chance in winning such case, except for the absence of a valid will by the deceased.
It's not too late or early to put the pen up to write your will to avoid being an intestate after your death which will leave the court with no choice than to share your will for your relatives. There are rooms available for change or update of your will to meet your demand in cases of new interest or acquisition of new property. Your will can only unite or tear your beneficiaries apart, so it's left for you to decide what your will says after you're gone.
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