{"id":179,"date":"2011-10-20T08:00:14","date_gmt":"2011-10-20T15:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/?p=179"},"modified":"2017-09-27T15:22:51","modified_gmt":"2017-09-27T22:22:51","slug":"always-have-a-valid-will","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/?p=179","title":{"rendered":"Always have a valid WILL"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is a will?<\/span><\/em><\/strong> Your will<\/em> is a legal document in which you describe instructions to be carried out after your death. You can direct the distribution of your assets (money & property), and give your choice of guardians for your dependents.\u00a0 It becomes irrevocable (unchangeable) when you die.<\/p>\n

In your will<\/em>, you can name:
\n1. Your beneficiaries<\/strong> \u2013
\n2. A guardian for your minor children<\/strong> \u2013 a person responsible for your child\u2019s personal care if you and your spouse die before the child turns 18. You may name your guardian, who may or may not be the same person, to be responsible for managing any assets given to the child, until he or she is 18 years of age.
\n3.<\/strong> An executor<\/strong> \u2013 an institution or person to collect and manage your assets, pay any debts, expenses and taxes due (on court approval) and distributed to beneficiaries according to the instructions on the will<\/em>.\u00a0 Role has significant responsibilities and is time-consuming \u2013 choose the executor wisely.<\/p>\n

Does a will<\/em> cover everything I own?<\/span><\/strong> No. Your will<\/em> affects only those assets that are titled in your name at your death.\u00a0 The following may<\/span> not<\/span> be affected by your will<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Life insurance
\nRetirement plans
\nAssets owned as joint tenant with rights of survivorship
\n\u201cTransfer on death\u201d or \u201cpay on death.\u201d
\n\u201cCommunity property with right of survivorship\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 Married couples or registered domestic partners may hold title to their community property assets in their names as \u201ccommunity property with right of survivorship\u201d.\u00a0 When the first spouse or domestic partner dies, the assets pass directly to the surviving spouse or partner without being affected by the will<\/em>.<\/p>\n

What happens if you don\u2019t have a will<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong> If you die without a will<\/em> (you die intestate<\/em>), California law will determine the beneficiaries of your estate.<\/p>\n

Contrary to popular myth, if you die intestate everything is not kept by the state but the state may inherit your estate under certain situations.\u00a0 In California, those married or in a registered domestic partnership will have their community property assets passed to their spouse\/registered domestic partner.\u00a0 They may also receive part of your separate property assets, with the rest going to your children, grandchildren, parents, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and other legal<\/span> relatives.<\/p>\n

If you are not married or in a legal partnership, your assets will be distributed to your closest relatives and if your partner dies before you, their relatives may also be entitled to some or all of your estate.\u00a0 Friends, a non-registered partner or your favorite charity will receive nothing unless you name them in a will<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If you die intestate and your deceased spouse\/registered partner have no living relatives then your estate does go to the State of California.<\/p>\n

What if my assets pass to a trust after my death?<\/span><\/strong> A will<\/em> can provide that all assets be distributed to trust on your death.\u00a0 When trusts are created under a will<\/em>, they are testamentary trusts.\u00a0 If you have a living trust (a trust established during your life) then your will<\/em> is referred to as a pour over<\/em> will<\/em>.\u00a0 The purpose of such a will<\/em> is to make sure that any assets not already in the name of your trust are transferred to your trust upon your death.<\/p>\n

How is a will<\/em> carried out?<\/strong> A will<\/em> is managed by a court-supervised process called probate<\/em>.\u00a0 The executor of a will<\/em> needs to start the probate process by filing a petition in court seeking official appointment as executor.\u00a0 The executor can take charge of your assets, pay debts and, with court approval, distribute your estate to your beneficiaries.<\/p>\n

Advantages of probate<\/em><\/span>:\u00a0 Rules that are followed on dispute are defined and quickly executed.
\nThe court reviews the executor\u2019s handling of the estate protecting the beneficiaries\u2019 interest<\/p>\n

Disadvantages of probate<\/em><\/span>: It is public \u2013 your words and the value of your assets are on public record.
\nFees are usually higher because they are based on a statutory fee schedule which can be more than under a trust. It takes longer \u2013 usually 6 weeks for each court request<\/p>\n

Who should know about your will<\/em>?<\/span><\/strong> You will need to decide who should know about your will<\/em> \u2013 the exact content will be (at minimum) known by your attorney and yourself.\u00a0 Your executor and close family should know how to access your documents but don\u2019t need to know the details.\u00a0 Your original signed will,<\/em> should be kept in a safe place (lawyer\u2019s safe or a fireproof box).<\/p>\n

*** THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED ONLY AS EDUCATION AND NOT AS LEGAL ADVICE ***<\/p>\n

Edi Alvarez, CFP\u00ae
\n<\/sup>BS, BEd, MS<\/p>\n

www.aikapa.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is a will? Your will is a legal document in which you describe instructions to be carried out after your death. You can direct the distribution of your assets (money & property), and give your choice of guardians for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,3,8],"tags":[42,43,41],"class_list":["post-179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-estate-planning","category-introduction","category-retirement-planning","tag-estate-planning-2","tag-legal-documents","tag-will"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=179"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":881,"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179\/revisions\/881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aikapa.com\/Financial_Bites\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}