Posts Tagged ‘registry will’
Writing a will isn’t hard, but it is important for everyone who has assets and especially for those who have children – even if they don’t have assets. Will specialists say that children are the most important assets that should be addressed in a will. After all, if both parents die in a common accident, who takes care of the kids? The first step in creating a will is to calculate your assets. You can do this yourself if you are worth less than $2 million, which is below the level that incurs estate taxes. Once you’ve done this, choose your heirs. You can also choose alternates if your heirs do not survive you. This is important to eliminate any fighting amongst the family after your death.
Next, select witnesses and an executor. All states require at least two people to witness the signing of your will, and they need to sign it in your presence and each other’s presence. These should be people who are not heirs outlined in your will. The last step is to put your will in a safe place. The best option is to make copies of it and store them in different locations, in case something happens to one of them. You can also go online to register the location of your will so that your family can easily find it after your death. The idea of creating a will is to have your wishes carried out after your death and to make things easier on your family and loved ones. Just follow these simple steps and your family will be very grateful.
Michael Jackson and the Importance of Wills
The recent sudden death of 50-year-old music legend Michael Jackson brought into the forefront the need to have a clearly defined will. Jackson had three young children and no spouse, so it was very important that he named a guardian for them in his will. He ultimately appointed his mother, Katherine Jackson, as their guardian, not the mother of the children. He also entrusted his entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which was divided between his children and mother, and cut out his father and siblings.
No one anticipates that they will die suddenly, but if you have children or a significant estate, you should absolutely have a legal will filed so that there is no question about what should happen to everything after you die. In the case of Jackson, there are many, many people who want to have a piece of his estate, but he ensured that only his mother and children will be beneficiaries because he established a legal will. Also, Jackson did not specify where or how he wanted to be buried, but that is also something you can establish in your will. For the sake of your children and loved ones, you should write and file a legal will long before you actually need it.