You can specify how you want your money and possessions to be distributed after death by writing a will. Wills typically contain the following:

• The designation of a person in charge of overseeing and closing the estate.
• Guidelines for allocating monetary and non-monetary assets to beneficiaries.
• Rules about minor children’s care and guardianship.
• Information about gifts or contributions to people or organizations of certain goods or sums.
• Instructions about the payment of any unpaid debts or liabilities.
• Directions for the allocation of any assets left over after certain bequests and costs are covered.
• Specifications for the funeral, if applicable, or burial.

What Wills DON’T Do?

Although necessary for specifying how assets will be distributed and other end-of-life desires, will not cover every facet of estate planning. For example, assets held in joint tenancy pass immediately to the surviving joint owner; similarly, assets having named beneficiaries, like retirement accounts or life insurance policies, are dispersed by those designations and are not covered by a will.

What Does a Will Need to Be Valid?

A will needs to fulfill several important legal conditions to be accepted. It has to be invented by a person who is of legal age, usually eighteen years of age or older, and sound mind. The testator shall sign the Wills And Estates Lawyer Hamilton in the company of two or more impartial witnesses, who shall likewise seal the document to confirm its legitimacy, after it has been written down, either by hand or by typing. To prevent conflicts of interest, the witnesses shouldn’t be beneficiaries or have any ownership interest in the estate. The will also needs to clearly state the testator’s intentions and include specific guidelines for how assets are to be distributed.

Witnesses

• Witnesses are legally required to sign the will in order to attest to the testator’s identity and voluntary signature.
• Witnesses ought to be objective individuals with no financial interest in the will’s terms in order to avoid conflicts of interest and ensure its legitimacy.
• To give a reliable account of the signing procedure, spectators must be present when the testator executes the will.
• The will must be signed by witnesses, who attest that they saw the testator sign it and that the testator seemed to be of sound mind.
• Witnesses must be of the appropriate age and possess mental competence since the validity of the will may be affected by their abilities.
• Information about witnesses, such as names and addresses, typically appears in the will to

Our Wills And Estates Lawyer Burlington have experience in dealing with all types of estate planning and administration, from simple wills to complex blended family situations and transfers of business interests.