Sometimes my estate planning clients are divorced with minor children and are not on friendly terms with their former spouses. These are four frequently-asked questions about choosing guardians which arise in this context: “Do I have to name my former spouse as a guardian?” “Can my new spouse be appointed guardian?” “What if I have a restraining order against my former spouse?” “If my former spouse is the custodian of our minor children, will s/he have access to our children’s money?” Here are some of the initial issues we discuss relating to these questions.
1. “Do I have to name my former spouse as a guardian?”
In the event of the death of a custodial parent, the surviving former spouse would automatically become the sole custodial parent, regardless of whether the former spouse is nominated as a guardian. The exception to this rule is if the former spouse is deceased, incarcerated, determined legally unfit, or if the former spouse’s parental rights were otherwise terminated or voluntarily relinquished. The surviving parent is just that, a parent, and while being a parent encompasses the rights and responsibilities that a guardian has, the surviving parent would be known as the minor child’s parent, and not as a guardian.
This does not mean that a client cannot or should not include guardian nominations in his or her Will. The language of the guardian nominations can be tailored to recognize the position of the former spouse within the progression of custodianship of the minor children, and can add contingent guardian nominees in the event the former spouse is or becomes unable or unwilling to assume custody and care of the minor children.
2. “Can my new spouse be guardian?”
The former spouse’s parental rights would supersede a guardian nomination of a client's new spouse, even if the children’s primary residence is with the client and new spouse. This means that the former spouse would automatically become the custodial parent regardless of whether he or she is nominated as a guardian. If the former spouse is deceased or found unfit or voluntarily relinquished his or her parental rights, the Court can then look to other guardian nominations. In these circumstances, it is possible that a new spouse might be named guardian, but not because the new spouse has any inherent right to assume custodianship of the children.
3. “What if I have a restraining order against my former spouse?”
The existence of a restraining order or abuse prevention order does not automatically preclude the former spouse from becoming the sole custodial parent after a client’s death. It will depend on several factors, including whether the restraining order or abuse prevention order includes provisions regarding the minor children, and the status of the former spouse’s parental rights.
4. “If my former spouse is the custodian of our minor children, will s/he have access to our children’s money?”
It depends. Without any estate plan in place, if a former spouse becomes the surviving custodian of a client’s minor children and the client did not remarry, there is a good chance the former spouse will have access to the client’s estate assets which are left to the minor children. If this issue is a concern, it is prudent to establish an estate plan that will ensure that the estate assets are used in the desired manner and managed and distributed by a trusted individual. Some clients choose to establish trusts for the benefit of their minor children just for this purpose.
These short responses are meant to provide initial discussion to some of the questions that frequently arise regarding nominating guardians in the context of divorce. Every client’s family situation is unique and warrants individual analysis and planning for that specific estate.
Showing posts with label Will. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Will. Show all posts
Friday, March 1, 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Choosing Guardians for Minor Children Part 1: How and When to Nominate
I am often contacted by first-time parents looking to set up an estate plan who have not yet considered or nominated legal guardians for their minor children. These are some of the common questions these clients have.
1. "What is the guardian responsible for?"
The guardian is responsible for providing caregiving and the legal responsibilities for the minor child. This usually means the child will go to live with the guardian at the guardian's home, although I have had clients who make arrangements and provisions to allow the guardian to move in with the child so the child will have as little disruption as possible. The guardian is responsible for ensuring that the child's medical, educational, and general well-being and developmental needs are taken care of.
The guardian is not necessarily responsible for managing any assets that may have been left for the benefit of the child. If there are assets that have been left in trust for the benefit of the child, the trustee will be responsible for managing and distributing assets for the child. In other circumstances, a conservator may be appointed for the child, whose sole role is to manage and distribute assets for the benefit of the child. Both the guardian and conservator are Court-appointed positions which are overseen by the Court. It is possible that the guardian and trustee, or guardian and conservator, may be the same individual, but not necessarily.
2. "What happens if I die and do NOT nominate any guardians?"
The answer to this question depends on the status of the remaining family structure. If the parents are married and one parent survives, the surviving parent automatically retains custodianship of the children. This is also true for unmarried parents, as long as the surviving parent was the biological, adoptive, or adjudicated parent of the child. For both married and unmarried parents, the surviving parent must also not have been found legally unfit or have some other legal impediment encumbering his or her ability to parent, such as incarceration or an abuse prevention order to protect the child.
If both parents are deceased, the minor child may have other relatives or close family friends who petition the Court to be appointed guardian. If no one steps forward, the Department of Children and Families will step in, at least temporarily until a guardian is appointed by the Court, and in the event that no guardian is approved by the Court, the child may be placed in foster care.
3. "How can I nominate guardians and how many should I nominate?"
The nomination of guardians is typically included in a Last Will and Testament, but could also be its own document. I usually include the nomination in my clients' Wills.
For the number of guardians, in the event that neither parent survives, I usually recommend three alternates, which can be individuals or couples. I recommend that my clients speak with the chosen nominated guardians to have a discussion about this role, and to obtain permission to include them in the list. Sometimes clients only have one or two alternates; some clients have five or more. While it may be extremely unlikely that so many alternate nominees are necessary, it provides peace of mind to the clients that they have done everything they could to ensure that in their children will be in good hands even if they are not there to take care of them themselves.
4. "Should I ever change the nominated guardians?"
This is always a possibility. I recommend that clients review their estate plans at least every 3-4 years, or sooner if there have been significant changes in the tax laws, the value of their assets, or a major life event, such as a marriage of birth of a child or grandchild. The child who may be in need of a guardian is constantly growing and changing, and similarly the lives, parenting skills, and availability of the nominated guardians will also constantly change.
There are many factors to consider in choosing guardians, explored in more detail in Choosing Guardians for Minor Children Part 2, and these should be considered and reconsidered at each developmental stage of the child, or more frequently if the circumstances of the child and/or nominated guardians so warrant.
1. "What is the guardian responsible for?"
The guardian is responsible for providing caregiving and the legal responsibilities for the minor child. This usually means the child will go to live with the guardian at the guardian's home, although I have had clients who make arrangements and provisions to allow the guardian to move in with the child so the child will have as little disruption as possible. The guardian is responsible for ensuring that the child's medical, educational, and general well-being and developmental needs are taken care of.
The guardian is not necessarily responsible for managing any assets that may have been left for the benefit of the child. If there are assets that have been left in trust for the benefit of the child, the trustee will be responsible for managing and distributing assets for the child. In other circumstances, a conservator may be appointed for the child, whose sole role is to manage and distribute assets for the benefit of the child. Both the guardian and conservator are Court-appointed positions which are overseen by the Court. It is possible that the guardian and trustee, or guardian and conservator, may be the same individual, but not necessarily.
2. "What happens if I die and do NOT nominate any guardians?"
The answer to this question depends on the status of the remaining family structure. If the parents are married and one parent survives, the surviving parent automatically retains custodianship of the children. This is also true for unmarried parents, as long as the surviving parent was the biological, adoptive, or adjudicated parent of the child. For both married and unmarried parents, the surviving parent must also not have been found legally unfit or have some other legal impediment encumbering his or her ability to parent, such as incarceration or an abuse prevention order to protect the child.
If both parents are deceased, the minor child may have other relatives or close family friends who petition the Court to be appointed guardian. If no one steps forward, the Department of Children and Families will step in, at least temporarily until a guardian is appointed by the Court, and in the event that no guardian is approved by the Court, the child may be placed in foster care.
3. "How can I nominate guardians and how many should I nominate?"
The nomination of guardians is typically included in a Last Will and Testament, but could also be its own document. I usually include the nomination in my clients' Wills.
For the number of guardians, in the event that neither parent survives, I usually recommend three alternates, which can be individuals or couples. I recommend that my clients speak with the chosen nominated guardians to have a discussion about this role, and to obtain permission to include them in the list. Sometimes clients only have one or two alternates; some clients have five or more. While it may be extremely unlikely that so many alternate nominees are necessary, it provides peace of mind to the clients that they have done everything they could to ensure that in their children will be in good hands even if they are not there to take care of them themselves.
4. "Should I ever change the nominated guardians?"
This is always a possibility. I recommend that clients review their estate plans at least every 3-4 years, or sooner if there have been significant changes in the tax laws, the value of their assets, or a major life event, such as a marriage of birth of a child or grandchild. The child who may be in need of a guardian is constantly growing and changing, and similarly the lives, parenting skills, and availability of the nominated guardians will also constantly change.
There are many factors to consider in choosing guardians, explored in more detail in Choosing Guardians for Minor Children Part 2, and these should be considered and reconsidered at each developmental stage of the child, or more frequently if the circumstances of the child and/or nominated guardians so warrant.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Why should I have a Will?
"Why should I have a Will?"
I am frequently asked this question. While no one is required to have a Will, there are many reasons it is advisable to have one in place.
But first, let's back up. What exactly does a Will do? The main purpose of a Will is to direct the ownership of your certain property after death. It can also be used to nominate guardians for your minor or incapacitated children, and describe your wishes for the disposition of your remains. Without a Will, your property would still pass to your heirs at law, your child would still have a guardian, and someone would still decide what should happen with your remains. However, you would have no enforceable input whatsoever into these important decisions.
A Will directs the disposition of probate property, or property passing inside of your probate estate. Over the last couple decades or so, "probate" has been condemned as the black sheep of estate planning work. Many people feel compelled to do everything possible to avoid it, and yet the process itself is fairly predictable, and does not have to be the insurmountable obstacle people fear. There is even a simple version for small estates. Some people believe that by not having a Will, they will automatically avoid probate. This is simply not true! If a decedent owns any probate property at the time of death, clearing title to transfer the property will still require Court involvement.
One situation which warrants having a Will is when there are children involved. Nominating legal guardians for minor, legally incapacitated or disabled children is a good way to lay the groundwork for what might happen after your death. As part of creating the Will, clients may need to speak with the family members and friends they wish to nominate as guardians to ensure that the intended guardians are not only able to take on such a task, but would be willing to do so. Sometimes clients are surprised by their conversations, but once armed with the relevant information, are able to make or change their nominations accordingly. Without a Will, children will still end up with guardians, but the Court's choice may not necessarily be the same as your own choice, as you failed to make your wishes known to the Court through a Will.
Nominating guardians is not the only benefit to creating a Will when children are involved. Since minors cannot own property, it is often held in trust for their benefit until they reach a certain age. Without a Will, this age is 18. I have never had clients who wanted their children to receive an entire inheritance on their eighteenth birthday! At 18, their children have had their driver's licenses for less than two years, and are cramming for 12th grade finals while trying to get a summer job before trekking off to college. Generally, my clients have felt that this is not the point when their children should suddenly become responsible for managing hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. A Will can contain trust provisions which will direct the management and investment of the estate funds well beyond the beneficiaries' 18th birthday. This will ensure that the children are provided for, but are not burdened by the responsibility of owning and managing the assets at such a young age.
Another situation where I frequently advise clients to create Wills is when they own real estate. The type of title they hold to the real estate will determine how the property will pass upon their deaths, and whether or not it would be included as part of their probate estate. If my clients are married, the issue is usually not what would happen to the property if one of them dies, since the survivor would typically assume full ownership, but rather the question lies in the disposition of the property upon both of their deaths.
For personal property, I find clients generally tend to bequeath their belongings along much more personal sentiments than bank accounts or real estate. Clients often ask if it is sufficient to stick pieces of paper on their belongings with the names of the intended recipients. The answer is no, this is not a legally sufficient manner to transfer property. Notes may fall off or fade in time, and may be removed or replaced by others. If there are precious items you wish particular individuals to receive after your death, a Will is the only means to make such bequests legally enforceable.
Clients also usually use Wills to express their wishes for the disposition of their remains. Sometimes they also include language regarding their desires for any funeral or memorial service. Laying out specific wishes in a Will removes the burden of choosing the type of service from the survivors, who may feel overwhelmed at the time of your death.
Wills can also be used to maximize estate tax advantages. Discussions about estate taxes are generally accompanied by discussions about the lifetime gift tax exclusion and generation-skipping tax, and the ways lifetime and charitable giving might play into enhancing the overall estate plan. In recent years, I have found that while clients still care about avoiding or delaying taxes when possible, they are usually more interested in making sure particular relatives and family heirlooms are taken care of in specific ways. This trend can probably be attributed at least in part to the increased federal estate tax exclusion and portability of the Unified Credit, which for moderately-sized estates removed the emphasis on tax avoidance. In Massachusetts, the estate tax filing threshhold remains at $1 million per person, so there is definitely still some motivation for tax planning.
Estate planning also becomes important in non-traditional, same-sex, or blended families, where one spouse may have children from a prior relationship that will be included in the parent's estate plan but not the step-parent's estate plan. This typically occurs when the step-children are not legally adopted by the step-parent. Unmarried couples need to consider in their estate plans that they cannot utilize the 100% federal spousal exclusion in transferring property to each other, and same-sex couples, even when married, are not currently able to enjoy the same federal tax benefits as heterosexual couples, and need to plan accordingly. Creative estate planning options should be considered in these situations.
Apart from solidifying the choices already discussed in this article, I think the main benefit to having a Will is the peace of mind it creates in knowing that these hard decisions are already made in a thoughtful and thorough manner, and that surviving family and friends will not be burdened by having to make these decisions themselves. The Will should answer any questions the survivors may have about your estate, your children's guardians, management of trust assets, and disposition of remains, which will eliminate or minimize the confusion or disputes which often arise without a Will.
I am frequently asked this question. While no one is required to have a Will, there are many reasons it is advisable to have one in place.
But first, let's back up. What exactly does a Will do? The main purpose of a Will is to direct the ownership of your certain property after death. It can also be used to nominate guardians for your minor or incapacitated children, and describe your wishes for the disposition of your remains. Without a Will, your property would still pass to your heirs at law, your child would still have a guardian, and someone would still decide what should happen with your remains. However, you would have no enforceable input whatsoever into these important decisions.
A Will directs the disposition of probate property, or property passing inside of your probate estate. Over the last couple decades or so, "probate" has been condemned as the black sheep of estate planning work. Many people feel compelled to do everything possible to avoid it, and yet the process itself is fairly predictable, and does not have to be the insurmountable obstacle people fear. There is even a simple version for small estates. Some people believe that by not having a Will, they will automatically avoid probate. This is simply not true! If a decedent owns any probate property at the time of death, clearing title to transfer the property will still require Court involvement.
One situation which warrants having a Will is when there are children involved. Nominating legal guardians for minor, legally incapacitated or disabled children is a good way to lay the groundwork for what might happen after your death. As part of creating the Will, clients may need to speak with the family members and friends they wish to nominate as guardians to ensure that the intended guardians are not only able to take on such a task, but would be willing to do so. Sometimes clients are surprised by their conversations, but once armed with the relevant information, are able to make or change their nominations accordingly. Without a Will, children will still end up with guardians, but the Court's choice may not necessarily be the same as your own choice, as you failed to make your wishes known to the Court through a Will.
Nominating guardians is not the only benefit to creating a Will when children are involved. Since minors cannot own property, it is often held in trust for their benefit until they reach a certain age. Without a Will, this age is 18. I have never had clients who wanted their children to receive an entire inheritance on their eighteenth birthday! At 18, their children have had their driver's licenses for less than two years, and are cramming for 12th grade finals while trying to get a summer job before trekking off to college. Generally, my clients have felt that this is not the point when their children should suddenly become responsible for managing hundreds of thousands, or even millions of dollars. A Will can contain trust provisions which will direct the management and investment of the estate funds well beyond the beneficiaries' 18th birthday. This will ensure that the children are provided for, but are not burdened by the responsibility of owning and managing the assets at such a young age.
Another situation where I frequently advise clients to create Wills is when they own real estate. The type of title they hold to the real estate will determine how the property will pass upon their deaths, and whether or not it would be included as part of their probate estate. If my clients are married, the issue is usually not what would happen to the property if one of them dies, since the survivor would typically assume full ownership, but rather the question lies in the disposition of the property upon both of their deaths.
For personal property, I find clients generally tend to bequeath their belongings along much more personal sentiments than bank accounts or real estate. Clients often ask if it is sufficient to stick pieces of paper on their belongings with the names of the intended recipients. The answer is no, this is not a legally sufficient manner to transfer property. Notes may fall off or fade in time, and may be removed or replaced by others. If there are precious items you wish particular individuals to receive after your death, a Will is the only means to make such bequests legally enforceable.
Clients also usually use Wills to express their wishes for the disposition of their remains. Sometimes they also include language regarding their desires for any funeral or memorial service. Laying out specific wishes in a Will removes the burden of choosing the type of service from the survivors, who may feel overwhelmed at the time of your death.
Wills can also be used to maximize estate tax advantages. Discussions about estate taxes are generally accompanied by discussions about the lifetime gift tax exclusion and generation-skipping tax, and the ways lifetime and charitable giving might play into enhancing the overall estate plan. In recent years, I have found that while clients still care about avoiding or delaying taxes when possible, they are usually more interested in making sure particular relatives and family heirlooms are taken care of in specific ways. This trend can probably be attributed at least in part to the increased federal estate tax exclusion and portability of the Unified Credit, which for moderately-sized estates removed the emphasis on tax avoidance. In Massachusetts, the estate tax filing threshhold remains at $1 million per person, so there is definitely still some motivation for tax planning.
Estate planning also becomes important in non-traditional, same-sex, or blended families, where one spouse may have children from a prior relationship that will be included in the parent's estate plan but not the step-parent's estate plan. This typically occurs when the step-children are not legally adopted by the step-parent. Unmarried couples need to consider in their estate plans that they cannot utilize the 100% federal spousal exclusion in transferring property to each other, and same-sex couples, even when married, are not currently able to enjoy the same federal tax benefits as heterosexual couples, and need to plan accordingly. Creative estate planning options should be considered in these situations.
Apart from solidifying the choices already discussed in this article, I think the main benefit to having a Will is the peace of mind it creates in knowing that these hard decisions are already made in a thoughtful and thorough manner, and that surviving family and friends will not be burdened by having to make these decisions themselves. The Will should answer any questions the survivors may have about your estate, your children's guardians, management of trust assets, and disposition of remains, which will eliminate or minimize the confusion or disputes which often arise without a Will.
Monday, October 1, 2012
What is a “Self-Proving Affidavit” and why should I have one?
A Self-Proving Affidavit is a sworn statement attached to a Will that makes the Will a “Self-Proved Will,” where the execution of the Will is proven.
In order for the execution of a Will to be valid in Massachusetts, it must be signed by the testator in the presence of, or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two disinterested witnesses, and then signed by those witnesses. (MUPC S. 2-502)
A Self-Proving Affidavit is a document, usually one page or less, which is simply a statement signed by the testator and witnesses affirming that the testator and witnesses in fact signed the Will in each other’s presence, and that to the best knowledge of the witnesses, the testator is at least 18 years old, of sound mind, and signing the document voluntarily without any undue influence. While the Will itself does not need to be signed before a Notary Public, it is always a good practice to do so. The Self-Proving Affidavit, however, does need to be executed before a Notary Public in order to be considered valid. (MUPC S. 2-504)
A Self-Proving Affidavit or a Self-Proved Will can prevent the Executor from spending time and money to locate the witnesses. Since witnesses can move, die, become incompetent, or remain unfound, it makes sense to have the Affidavit signed at the same the Will is executed.
In one estate I probated, the Will had a Self-Proving Affidavit attached to it, but no one had signed it. (The testator had obtained the Will online and did not seek the advice of an estate planning attorney prior to executing it.) Fortunately, the witnesses were still alive and competent, and had not moved in the years since they witnessed the Will. The Court required that one of them physically appear at Court and sign a sworn statement before a Court officer. This statement had essentially the same language as the original unsigned Self-Proving Affidavit that had accompanied the Will.
While the matter of proving the Will in this particular case was resolved, the witness had to take a half-day off from work to attend Court, wait in long lines, and pay for parking. The additional time and expense involved could have all been easily avoided if the Self-Proving Affidavit had just been signed at the same time as the Will. The Self-Proving Affidavit is a good example of Benjamin Franklin’s saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
In order for the execution of a Will to be valid in Massachusetts, it must be signed by the testator in the presence of, or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two disinterested witnesses, and then signed by those witnesses. (MUPC S. 2-502)
A Self-Proving Affidavit is a document, usually one page or less, which is simply a statement signed by the testator and witnesses affirming that the testator and witnesses in fact signed the Will in each other’s presence, and that to the best knowledge of the witnesses, the testator is at least 18 years old, of sound mind, and signing the document voluntarily without any undue influence. While the Will itself does not need to be signed before a Notary Public, it is always a good practice to do so. The Self-Proving Affidavit, however, does need to be executed before a Notary Public in order to be considered valid. (MUPC S. 2-504)
A Self-Proving Affidavit or a Self-Proved Will can prevent the Executor from spending time and money to locate the witnesses. Since witnesses can move, die, become incompetent, or remain unfound, it makes sense to have the Affidavit signed at the same the Will is executed.
In one estate I probated, the Will had a Self-Proving Affidavit attached to it, but no one had signed it. (The testator had obtained the Will online and did not seek the advice of an estate planning attorney prior to executing it.) Fortunately, the witnesses were still alive and competent, and had not moved in the years since they witnessed the Will. The Court required that one of them physically appear at Court and sign a sworn statement before a Court officer. This statement had essentially the same language as the original unsigned Self-Proving Affidavit that had accompanied the Will.
While the matter of proving the Will in this particular case was resolved, the witness had to take a half-day off from work to attend Court, wait in long lines, and pay for parking. The additional time and expense involved could have all been easily avoided if the Self-Proving Affidavit had just been signed at the same time as the Will. The Self-Proving Affidavit is a good example of Benjamin Franklin’s saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Issues with Do-It-Yourself Wills
Clients have come to me bearing copies of their Last Will and Testament documents, which they created through do-it-yourself software kits or on-line estate planning services. They offer these Wills to me for a quick review, believing them to be adequate representations of their wishes, and merely wanting confirmation of these beliefs.
In an age and economy where “do-it-yourself” projects are not only encouraged but often a badge of honor, more people are attempting to save time and money by creating and executing their own Wills. The results, however, are frequently not as laudable as the clients’ intentions. I have yet to review a do-it-yourself Will that has fully and completely reflected a client's wishes, and have even reviewed some with fundamental flaws and contradictions. (Add to that a do-it-yourself Trust and the potential for mistakes and inaccuracies may rise exponentially.)
Of course it is possible that some do-it-yourself estate planning programs will produce documents with the desired results, particularly if the users’ life situations conform exactly with the line of questioning produced by the software or online programs. And if and when the do-it-yourself documents “get it right,” perhaps there will be savings of a few hundred dollars and some hours of time.
The problem is that if the Wills are incomplete, inaccurate, imprecise in any manner, the issues will not be discovered until the Wills are offered to probate, at which time the authors, then deceased, have no ability to clarify or correct the documents. If the Wills were also not executed properly, the Court may reject them from the probate process, or if the problem is with the language of the documents, there may be other issues, such as unnecessary taxes due, heirs omitted by accident, or any number of other problems that can result in (at best) survivors’ confusion and hurt feelings or (at worst) full-fledged litigation. These are usually not the outcomes the decedents were trying to produce.
Wills are documents where it pays to get it right. For many clients, just knowing that their wishes are clearly and accurately portrayed in their Wills offers peace of mind. An initial savings of dollars and time may not be worth the hassle of then having to get the do-it-yourself Wills reviewed and possibly rewritten by an estate planning attorney.
In an age and economy where “do-it-yourself” projects are not only encouraged but often a badge of honor, more people are attempting to save time and money by creating and executing their own Wills. The results, however, are frequently not as laudable as the clients’ intentions. I have yet to review a do-it-yourself Will that has fully and completely reflected a client's wishes, and have even reviewed some with fundamental flaws and contradictions. (Add to that a do-it-yourself Trust and the potential for mistakes and inaccuracies may rise exponentially.)
Of course it is possible that some do-it-yourself estate planning programs will produce documents with the desired results, particularly if the users’ life situations conform exactly with the line of questioning produced by the software or online programs. And if and when the do-it-yourself documents “get it right,” perhaps there will be savings of a few hundred dollars and some hours of time.
The problem is that if the Wills are incomplete, inaccurate, imprecise in any manner, the issues will not be discovered until the Wills are offered to probate, at which time the authors, then deceased, have no ability to clarify or correct the documents. If the Wills were also not executed properly, the Court may reject them from the probate process, or if the problem is with the language of the documents, there may be other issues, such as unnecessary taxes due, heirs omitted by accident, or any number of other problems that can result in (at best) survivors’ confusion and hurt feelings or (at worst) full-fledged litigation. These are usually not the outcomes the decedents were trying to produce.
Wills are documents where it pays to get it right. For many clients, just knowing that their wishes are clearly and accurately portrayed in their Wills offers peace of mind. An initial savings of dollars and time may not be worth the hassle of then having to get the do-it-yourself Wills reviewed and possibly rewritten by an estate planning attorney.
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