Benjamin Franklin was right: the only certainties in life are death and taxes. Certainly, contemplating one’s own demise is never a pleasant topic. Given the inevitability of death, though, it’s quite surprising that most people don’t have a will.
What Is A Will?
A will is a written declaration as to how a person wishes his assets to be distributed at the time of their death. The declaration can be handwritten by the person whose assets are being distributed (called a “holographic will”) or memorialized in a more formal, typed writing prepared by an attorney. Assets which can be distributed include anything in the person’s possession at the time of their death.
Why Do I Need A Will?
There are a number of reasons why you should have a will. Perhaps the most compelling, though, is this: if you don’t decide how your estate will be distributed upon your death, the government will.
It goes without saying that government is good at a lot of things. When it comes to building roads, providing for the national defense, and funding education, government is second-to-none. When it comes to distributing personal assets, however, government simply lacks the insight into a person’s psyche to properly understand how he would like his assets distributed upon his death. In the absence of such insight, government is forced to adopt hard-and-fast rules as to how assets are distributed upon death. Rules which almost never distribute assets the way the person otherwise would.
Why Do I Need An Attorney?
The fact that a will need not be prepared by an attorney in order to be “valid” begs the question, “why should I pay an attorney to write my will when I can simply do it myself?” In these difficult economic times, such a question is certainly reasonable. Ultimately, I suppose, whether to spend the money to pay an attorney to prepare your will comes down to how willing you are to leave the disposition of your estate to chance. Given the particular facts and circumstances surrounding the nature of your assets, the nature and extent of personal relationships, etc., it might be that there are certain financial and legal implications that you may not be aware of when preparing your own will that will significantly impact your loved ones upon your passing. In order to avoid such unforeseen consequences, the fee charged by an attorney to prepare your will is money well spent.
Michael Jackson’s passing earlier this week has put a renewed focus on the need for a proper estate plan. For those who are interested, here is a copy of the will filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court on Jackson’s behalf. Of particular note is the ability of the named executors to dispose of Jackson’s intellectual property (e.g. Jackson’s rights in his music and the music of others) and the fact that Diana Ross is to be the guardian of his children in the event Jackson’s mother is unable to fulfill that duty.