More than likely, you will be able to write your own will. There are a lot
of wills available online that you can use as an example whenever you are
writing your own will. These are usually sufficient if you are under
65-years-old and own less than $1 million in real estate. However, if you
happen to have a larger estate or are growing older, then a basic will
probably is not the most economical and efficient type of will to have. If
this is the case, then you are going to want to consult with either an
attorney or an estate planning professional.
Whenever married couples decide to make a will, most of them will choose to
leave everything to one another first, then when the spouse dies they will
leave everything to their children equally. On the other hand, most single
parents will want to leave everything to their children and also name their
children's guardian. Then there are also single people who generally want
to leave their estate to their friends, relatives or to their significant
other. If this is how you would like your estate to be distributed, then
you can proceed with this simple will which is intended to cover truly
general situations. However, if you do not find that this will meet your
needs, or if you have more complicated needs, then you will need to seek out
legal counsel.
Is your net worth more than $675,000? This net worth consists of the amount
of all the property that you own at the time of your death. In order to
determine this, you must look at what the market value of this property is
minus any money that you may still own on it. You will want to look at this
closely as the personal estate tax exemption will allow for a specific
dollar amount of your property to be transferred free of tax. This is known
as the "threshold limit."
Whenever you are adding up your assets in order to determine the value of
your estate, you will want to make sure that you include the following
items:
- Your place of residence.
- Any real estate that you may own.
- Your bank account, CDs and money markets.
- Your stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
- Your 401(K), IRA, pension and other retirement accounts.
- Your life insurance policies and annuities.
- Any part of a business that you may own.
- Your cars, boats and planes.
- Any jewelry that you own.
- Any collectibles that you own.
- Whatever other personal property that you may have.
As was aforementioned, if you find that your total assets total more than
$675,000 then you are going to need more than basic estate planning. This
is also true if you have a complex situation (i.e. the desire to disinherit
relatives; want to establish complicated trust provisions; have a disabled
child; or anticipate family conflict).
