Top Seven Reasons to Create a Will (Pt. 2)

October 5, 2014 Posted In Estate Planning,Wills
by Colorado Estate Matters

Picking up from where Top 7 Reasons to Create a Will (Pt. 1) left off, below we will continue pointing out some of the most important reasons that you should develop a will if you do not already have one in place.

More Reasons Why You Need to Create a Will…

While a will allows you to choose your beneficiaries, it can also help you protect your minor children. Call us when you are ready to create a will.

Reason 3 – You can choose your beneficiaries.

Just as the development of a will allows a person to select his executor, so too does it empower him to choose the specific beneficiaries of his estate. Whether these beneficiaries end up being a person’s spouse, siblings, children or other relatives, the fact of the matter is that having a will in place will effectively allow an individual to choose who may get what from the estate. This can be very important whenever a person has specific wishes about what people in his life should end up getting specific assets or property of his estate after his passing.

For instance, if a person wants his spouse to retain the marital house while his children get other specific assets, all of these detailed wishes can be fully articulated in a legal will.

When there is no will in place, carrying out these wishes and ensuring that certain beneficiaries get specific assets or property will be far more difficult (if these wishes are even known); in the worst cases, the lack of a will can lead to expensive and contentious disputes between family members who may be fighting over various assets (as they may all claim that a decedent wanted them to have the asset(s) in question).

Reason 4 – You can make sure your minor children are protected.

When people have children younger than 18 years old and/or children who may have special needs, making sure that these children are fully protected and cared for after a parent’s passing will be critical, especially if there may not be any immediately close relatives available to care for the children in question.

By taking the time to create a will, a parent can fully detail:

• Who should care for a child in the event of the parent’s passing
• Which relatives should NOT be considered when it comes to custody (because of, for instance, a history of addition and/or abuse)
• What assets a child has claim to from an estate
• What assets a child may have ownership over upon becoming a legal adult.

This part of the estate planning and will creation process can be particularly detailed, especially when a child has special needs, so it’s best to consult with the Denver wills and estate planning attorneys at Colorado Estate Matters, Ltd. to get professional advice regarding your best options for planning for children’s futures in a will (or another appropriate estate planning tool like a trust).

Don’t miss the upcoming conclusion to this blog series for some more important reasons to create a will for your estate and loved ones!

Denver Estate Planning Attorneys at Colorado Estate Matters, Ltd.

Are you ready to create a will or do you need help revising a will you may already have in place? Contact the Colorado Estate Matters, Ltd. law firm to see how we can help you create the most effective will for you and your family.

Contact Us

We can discuss your estate planning needs and different options during our consultation. To schedule this meeting, call us at (303) 713-9147 or email us using the contact form at the top of this page.

From our offices in Denver, we serve clients throughout the southwest and southeast Metro Area, including (but not limited to) people in Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Castle Rock, Parker, Aurora, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Centennial, Wheat Ridge, Golden and Arvada.