Plan for the Future: Make a Will!
Julia K. Palzer
Did you know that August is ‘Make a Will’ month? Neither did I, but apparently, it’s a thing! I’m glad it’s a thing, too, because it is very important.
Who am I?
Every single day is ‘Make a Will’ day in my world. Every single day is also ‘Make a Trust’ day for me because I practice law with my husband, Jeff Palzer. Together, we are a small two-person estate planning law firm. My grandfather who was a master electrician and master carpenter always used to say, “You need the tools to do the job.” What is the ‘job’ and what are the ‘tools’ you ask? Wills and Trusts are two of the main tools, and the job is Estate Planning.
What is Estate Planning?
I wish ‘Estate Planning’ was called something else because it sounds too lofty, too fancy, too out of reach for what it really is. I would suggest instead that it be called ‘Decision Making Planning’. You may have a lot, such as rolling hills with stables and a crew of uniformed people that take care of your large ‘Estate’ as I think the words ‘Estate Planning’ imply. (I don’t know about you, but it doesn’t describe my estate). Or, you may have a little and you live in a modest home with simply a checking account, a savings account, and a car.
Most of us probably fall somewhere in between. Whether you have a little or a lot, every person needs at least a Will.
There’s a lot at stake if you don’t. If you die before putting one into place, essentially your state (the government) has already written one for you. It’s called dying intestate, and the state says who is in charge and who gets what (and how much). Which leads me to think of another expression, scary words, ‘We are here from the government and are here to help.”
I don’t know about you, but I want to be the captain of my own ship, thank you very much. Even when I am no longer on that ship and that ship has sailed on without me, I want my wishes, orders, and directions to be adhered to.
What is a Will?
A Will is a legal document that meets certain criteria set out by your state’s legislature written in the first person as yourself saying who you want making decision for you when you pass, and what decisions you are directing your Personal Representative – your decision maker - to make on your behalf.
Let me use myself as an example. I have a Will that says when I die that my husband Jeff is my Personal Representative - my decision maker - the person to stand in my place legally and take legal responsibility and accountability for making my last and final decisions. My Will even says who is back up to Jeff to make my decisions if Jeff cannot. If Jeff predeceases me, the back up to Jeff is a local medium-size bank, but you could also name another specific person. My Personal Representative, whomever that might be at the time of my death, is responsible for making my last and final decisions and carrying out my wishes. My Will goes on to say precisely what those decisions are and what my Personal Representative must do.
Because I also have a Trust, my Will says my Personal Representative must distribute (give) all of my remaining personal property (my stuff), any real property (real estate), and all of my money that is in just my name, to the Trustee of our joint Trust. (In a future blog, I will tell you about a Trust, but we are sticking with just Wills this month since it is ‘Make a Will’ month.) If I solely had a Will with no Trust to point to, my Will would say that Jeff gets anything that is left that was in just my name. And if Jeff dies first, then the Bank I named as his back up would then be required to give everything to our three kids equally. I have directed my Personal Representative to only distribute my assets to my children when they reach the age of 30. Until then, the Personal Representative (Jeff or the bank if he is deceased) would need to pay our kids’ tuition, general needs, and those types of things.
What I have described here is a little oversimplified, but I just wanted to give you an example of what a Will says and does. Again, I think “Decision Maker Planning” is a more appropriate term rather than ‘Estate Planning’ as at its simplest form the job is to tell the world who you want doing what you want after you pass.
My hope is that you have learned a little more about having a Will and why it is so important. So now, you have a job. And you need the tools to do the job. Time to get to it and put your Will into place. It is nothing to fear, just something to be done. Stay tuned for more information on Estate Planning and Trusts in a future post.