And while you’re at it, you and the Missus could have the lawyer draft up powers of attorney and medical directives. Believe me, if you were to get in an accident and be lying unconscious in a hospital, you wife and kids would appreciate both of those documents: power of attorney for any business/money/insurance decisions, and medical directive to have an understanding of what your wishes are.
Bingo.
To the OP, I’d ask: are you happy with how your estate will be divvied up in the absence of a will, and who would be the executor? If so, you may be OK without one.
But if, for instance, you want your spouse to get everything if you go first, but under the law of your state, your kids would get half if you die without a will, then you really should have one.
Good idea. Power of attorney vs. executor - I assume there is a difference?
mmm
^ This. So very much this.
The difference is that the latter works for you after you’re dead.
A power of attorney authorises some other trusted person to act for you while you are alive but incapable. Spouses can nominate each other for instance, and then the kids if the other spouse is not able to act.
So the power of attorney can sign a cheque on your bank account to pay for hospital care, for instance. Obviously, it has to be someone you trust completely.
Executor is the person you name in your will to wind up your estate.
Not meant as legal advice, but just to give a general outline. I don’t know where you live or what the law there is. Speaking to a lawyer in your area who does wills and estates is your best bet.
RT Firefly makes a good point. Most couples usually want to leave all or the bulk of the estate to the survivor, with it going to the kids when the survivor dies. But some intestacy laws say the kids get their share right away.
That may be perfectly okay for some people, but not at all what others want.
Again, not meant as legal advice, but just to illustrate one possibility. It’s a good idea to talk to a lawyer who knows the law in your jurisdiction.
My grandfather didn’t need a will.
My name was on his checking account, so there was no issue there.
The only thing of significant value that he owned was his car. I took a copy of the death certificate to the DMV, and got the car re-titled in my name.
No will, no probate process, and no problem.
Around here, if you haven’t left a will, someone has to go to court to get a letter of administration. It’s not a big thing, but it’s a slightly larger thing than just getting the will certified.
When your husband dies, you might get away without having a will or a letter of administration, if everything is in joint names. But when your surviving parent dies, you are going to want to sell the house or transfer ownership, and that will be easier if the parent left all the paperwork in order.
I don’t doubt you- but how did that work with the car? I mean, the death certificate said your grandfather passed away, but unless it was unlike any other death certificate I’ve seen, it didn’t certify that you were his grandson, that he didn’t have any children who should have inherited, that he didn’t have any other grandchildren , etc. I’m sure there’s a way to do it without either probate or a will - when my mother-in-law passed away , she didn’t have a will. My husband didn’t have to go through probate but he did have to be appointed as administrator by the court which required an affidavit listing all other potential heirs and their address or date of death along with my husband’s birth certificate. I assume a grandchild would have needed both his own and his parent’s birth certificate.
I could maybe see a more simplified process for a car, (perhaps just an affidavit and the birth and death certificates without actually going to court) but I really don’t understand how it would work with just a death certificate.
- Years after my grandmother passed away, i found out that she had some unclaimed funds at the State Comptroller’s office. Since all of her children had passed away already by the time I found out, it was going to be a giant production since all the money would have to pass through her estate to her sons’ estate and then through them to her nine grandchildren. Didn’t even bother , 'cause i didn’t know how much money it was and there was no way to find out before going through the process.
If the car title was in both their names that might work - prove one of the title holders is deceased and the remaining person can have the title changed to just their own name. That’s more or less what happened with the vehicles my spouse and I owned after his death.
Illinois has a something called the “Small Estate Affidavit” procedure. This allows property to be transferred without involving the Probate Court or a lot of expense. Basically, the person claiming the property has to fill out an affidavit and submit it to the person holding the property. If you need to transfer a vehicle title, the Secretary of State’s office must accept a small estate affidavit together with the transfer fees.
Not all states have anything similar to this.
It’s been 17 years, so I don’t remember all the details. But there was some monetary limit; if the total estate was under that amount, there was a simplified process. I think I had to fill out some form attesting to the facts of the case.