Prepare your Will
Make the right plans now by preparing your will with an experienced will lawyer in Long island. No matter the financial or medical situation you are in today, contact a will lawyer Long Island to help you plan for the future, yours and that of your family by documenting the appropriate Will.
You may want to Consider one or more of the following cases and see if you fit into these categories; you own and manage one or more businesses, you have minor children or you don’t have any children, you have a disabled family member, or you have one or more health issues, you are married, divorced or in a second marriage etc. These situations requires you make appropriate plans, and prepare a valid Will.
Planning now for the future with a Will lawyer would never be regretted. One wrong document or inclusion or signatory could mean or signal a whole different thing and may lead to loss and probate of your properties with the beneficiary or trustee not getting it.
Types of Will
Simple Will
A simple will is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about a last will and testament. It is a written will drafted for a simple estate with uncomplicated assets, specifying where such assets will go at the death of the testator (the creator of the will).
Pour-over Will
A pour-over will becomes greatly important when you create a trust and transfer some — but not all — of your assets into the trust. A pour-over will is created by the trust maker during his lifetime, to transfer the remaining assets which were not included in the trust, into the trust at his death. The assets thus transferred are subject to the terms of the trust. It may be used alongside a living trust to hold assets which could not be transferred into the living trust. The pour-over will only become effective after the death of the testator.
Holographic Will
A Holographic will is a handwritten will that was not witnessed by anybody at the time it was written. Although not acceptable as valid in other states, a holographic will is acceptable in NY if at least two persons attests to the handwriting to be that of the testator.
Nuncupative Will
A nuncupative will is also known as an oral will, that is, spoken and not written. Most states also do not accept an oral will but for it to be valid in Long Island, the oral will must have been made by a mariner at sea or a military personnel serving at a time of war. However, at least three persons must attest to have witnessed the testator uttering the words of the oral will.
What happens to your estate when you died without a valid Will?
When one dies without a will or the will is declared invalid, the estate left by the deceased becomes “intestate”, that is, will be administered in accordance with the intestacy laws effective in Long Island. Here, the court would have to appoint an executor/administrator who will carry out the distribution of property as well as other fiduciary duties.
In the absence of a valid last will in Long Island, the intestacy laws states that all your estate would go to your spouse if you had no children. If you had only children, your estate would go to the children. If you’re survived by a spouse as well as children, then your spouse receives half of your property, while the rest falls to your children. If you’re survived by neither spouse nor children, then your estate and properties would be shared to your surviving next of kin as judged by the laws in Long Island.
Speak With a Lawyer
Nevertheless, whether or not you need to create a will depends on your wishes. You may desire to quietly give off all your property to an individual at your death without having to go through the publicity and stress of probate. Here, a will may not be needed. What you require may be only a pour-over will alongside a trust.
To plan and document the appropriate kind of Will that would be acceptable in Long Island, you need a legal guide.
To be on a safer side, kindly contact a Will lawyer Long Island for professional guidance.