What will become come of our “fortune” when we “expire?” (Let’s assume we do that on the same day, for the sake of discussion)
Depends on the laws governing inheritance wherever you’re legally residing, but as a general rule, it’ll mainly go to your next of kin. Without kids, that’d mean parents or siblings initially, and then branch out to aunts, uncles, cousins and so forth.
You really should have a will done, even if you’re going to just leave it to your spouse when you kick. Otherwise, it will likely end up in probate. Or select a charity for it to go to in the event you both die in a fiery crash. If relatives start coming out of the woodwork, it could end up in endless lawyer costs to get it settled.
Closest living relative. Without a will, you put the burden on the court to investigate and locate that individual. As stated you should have a will.
The term for dying without a will is dying “intestate”. As others have mentioned, the laws of your state will generally handle intestate succession; it usually starts by giving your stuff to your spouse, then your kids (of which you have none), then parents, then siblings, before branching out to more distant relatives. If nobody is located, it “escheats” (or reverts) to the state.
Bear in mind, though, that a lot of property can pass outside of probate, merely upon the function of your death. For any insurance policies, you’ll have named beneficiaries who will receive proceeds according to the policy. You can designated a POD (“payable on death”) to your bank accounts. And, depending on how your real estate is titled, it can immediately pass to another person by operation of law without needing to take further action (i.e. if you own the property along with someone, and you both have “rights of survivorship”, the surviving person becomes the outright owner automatically upon death of the other person).
Ultimately, then, there may be little need to put together a will, unless you anticipate a fight over your assets by distant relatives or have an express desire to exclude somebody you are related to. In a normal situation, after the life insurance, real estate, and bank accounts are taken care of, a will is really just instructions on what to do with your remaining tangible assets - like cars, clothes, or heirlooms. If the people in your life would (absolutely) honor any prior request you had made regarding what to do with that stuff, a will may not be worth the cost or hassle.
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On preview, I just noticed that the OP postulates dying at the same time as his/her spouse. My opinions above don’t change under that scenario, but if one spouse has a will and the other doesn’t, it could create a very interesting legal battle to determine who actually died first (i.e. if he has no will, and the laws of succession say that his estate goes to her, she may have inherited his assets in the split second before she died, meaning that they are included in whatever distributions she had made in her will as being part of her estate. Somebody eligible for such a distribution may have a vested interest in establishing that she died second, to ensure that she did, in fact, inherit his estate - which she could then pass on - instead of dying first, before inheriting whatever he had).
I’ll take care of you fortune for you. No need to worry.
Sorry for the double post, but I do see that I am outnumbered by people here advocating for a will.
I would like to say that having a will is not a bad thing, just that it is not always necessary. As I said previously, a lot of what you own is excluded from the probate of a will. And, for most people, what is included (handing out your stuff) is relatively minor and may be dealt with informally by the family.
Having said that, there are some times when a will should be done:
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There might be conflicts among the heirs. This can be especially pertinent when people get married after each has their own grown children or when significant assets are at stake. If you can imagine infighting or disagreements, it is worthwhile to settle those disputes as you see fit before you die. The assets will absolutely be squandered if they are litigated over.
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You want to exclude somebody who might be presumed to be amongst your heirs. Most states have a legal provision to ensure that a surviving spouse can inherit some portion of a decedent’s estate. But, other than that, you don’t have to leave anything to anyone: even you kids have no right to an inheritance. So, if some no good dirty rotten scoundrel has become estranged, a formal will is useful to prevent them from laying claim to some of your stuff.
Additionally, bear in mind that there are other types of documents that also impact what happens at the end of life which are not a will, but might be advisable.
One is a “living will”, which is really just a written healthcare directive on how to treat you if you are in a debilitative state and can’t make decisions for yourself. Like a will, this isn’t really necessary if the people in your family will all come to one agreement. But if you anticipate infighting, or if you know that your wishes may not align with those of others who might vouch for you, this is a good thing to have.
So, too, would be a legal document directing some person (usually a spouse) to be a health care surrogate who is able to make independent end-of-life decisions (if only to avoid the drama of having your spouse and your parents fighting over your plug (i.e. Terry Schiavo)).
Finally, note that a will is just a directive on how to distribute your stuff. It has no power to direct the use of that stuff once it is given away. For that reason, many people create a “trust” instead of a will. Basically, the distinction is that a trust includes instructions on what to do with the stuff you distribute (as managed by a trustee) and enables you to maintain some sort of control. So, for example, a trust may be set up to ensure that some relative gets an allowance, or gets access to money only upon certain needs, instead of just receiving getting a lump sum distribution (as directed by a will).
Ultimately, it is not absolute that everybody needs a will. It can be useful, but it can also be costly. Depending on your circumstances, a will may or may not be warranted.
If it were me I would set up some scholar ship funds. Maybe even consider doing it before you die. You might be able to enjoy seeing young men and women get off to a good start.
My wife and I fit your description, but we had a will and medical directives made up this year. We wanted to direct our estate to our siblings for distribution to our nieces and nephews in an equitable manner.
Moriarty, wouldn’t writing a will be simpler than doing all those other things? (Unless you want to create a trust).
And would it be like UK law where, if you wrote a will on am envelope and got it attested by two people, it would still count? More likely to be contested but only if people choose to do so - no automatic probate.
Do you have any pets? You definitely need to name who would get them should you (both) die. I’ve heard of animal custody disputes that were nastier than those involving children.
Nieces, nephews, cousins? They can be beneficiaries if you wish.
I am single and have no children, and I need to get my will amended so that my cats go to my brother, not my parents, and the money will be divided between my nieces. I certainly hope to still be here when they’re at the age where I want them to get all my money, but in the event that I am not, I want my estate placed into a trust they can draw upon for educational and medical expenses until that time arrives.
I recently found out (and not from her parents :o ) that one of them qualifies for a state Medicaid waiver due to some special needs, and this definitely needs to be addressed. I definitely don’t want her losing benefits on account of me.
Simpler for you? Yes. Simpler for the folks who inherit? No. Even simplified probate can take years if, say, a house has to be sold and the proceeds distributed to multiple heirs. Also, I don’t think there’s a way for other relatives to protest a life insurance payout, POD, or quit claim.
Oh, some forms of retirement can have designated beneficiaries, in case you die before your contribution has been paid out.
Whether a holographic will is acceptable or not, and what has to be in it to be acceptable, varies state by state.
And as many ordinary married couples own pretty much everything jointly, there’s a possibility (depending on the relevant intestacy law) that it will only go to one person’s relatives. This happened when my grandfather died, followed by his second wife a few years later. Everything they had when he died was joint property, which became hers exclusively, which meant his heirs were completely excluded when she died. (There was actually nothing of value left so nobody was offended by this. If her cousins or whoever got roped into dealing with it, they likely came out behind.)
Perhaps, but those things are fairly simple in themselves:
You designate a beneficiary whenever you buy the insurance policy. Be sure to name someone you want to provide for when you die.
Designating a “Payable on Death” on your bank accounts usually amount to filling out a form at the bank.
And real estate can be titled however you want when it is acquired; if you are looking to change the form of ownership, it just takes preparing and recording a quit claim deed with the county records (of course, if you are in need of somebody to prepare a deed, you are right that you might as well ask them about the other forms, like a will, too).
I guess my point is just that there is no reason to panic if you don’t have a will. And while everyone has an “estate” when they die, it might be very small and only of interest to a few immediate people. Sure, a will can be peace of mind. But it can also be rather costly.
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Do you have any pets? You definitely need to name who would get them should you (both) die. I’ve heard of animal custody disputes that were nastier than those involving children.
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Now, I do think that a trust is important if you have minor kids (which may include your pets). If both parents were to die, then who would raise the kids? Just as importantly, do you want to hold them to instructions about how to raise the kids? A trust can leave instructions about schooling, religious or cultural upbringing, allowance, or other things that you would want to dictate from beyond the grave. Remember that a will empowers you to distribute your stuff, but any instructions about what to do with that stuff (i.e. to my sister I give my fine china, but I want her to always make it available to my cousins when they decide to host Thanksgiving) is merely aspirational; it can’t be enforced. Trusts are different like that.
Just want to highlight one benefit of the beneficiary, POD, quit claim process. It allows closer relatives to be bypassed in a way that they can’t effectively protest.
When one of my almost-in-laws died, siblings he hadn’t seen in years descended. But when they went to sell his rental house, the title company found a quit-claim deed that made the almost-step-son who had looked after him for years the owner.
There were words, but not effective ones.