A Will is the document by which you tell your heirs of your wishes for the disposal of your property after you die. In most places the law requires that you make reasonable provision for your spouse and children so the government does not have to look after them. You may also choose to give charitable bequests. Often people give specific items that are sentimental to named people or specific sums of money. These are called special bequests. This program will take you through a series of steps.
First it will ask you to describe yourself. Give your full correct name, your address and occupation. The purpose is to be certain that when the will is presented to court it will be certain that it has your will.
Next, it will ask you to name your executor. This is the person who will carry out your instructions. Choose a person you know you can trust. Try to make sure it is someone who likely will survive you. You may choose more than one person to be executor and those people may be alternates to each other or act jointly. In naming an executor you should give the full name and/or the address and occupation or relationship of the executor to you.
If you are married and have young children who may require a guardian if you should die before they are adult then you should also appoint a guardian. Usually that is your spouse first but if your spouse should die as well you may provide an alternate. The executor and guardian may be the same person if you like, but need not be. You should consider how the estate is to provide for your children during their childhood and give the executor or guardian the ability to provide funds and care.
Special bequests are gifts of specific property or money to named people. You may dispose of your entire estate this way but it is not recommended because your assets change from time to time. The most common way is to select those unique items that you feel you will always keep and that may have some sentimental value to particular people who are close to you. You may wish to dispose of them by special bequest. The other use of special bequests is to give specific amounts of money to charity or specific friends and relatives who you are not including in the general distribution of the estate.
You may indicate to your executor your wishes as to funeral or burial arrangements by way of a statement in your will. The program will ask whether you wish to do so and insert your wishes as you type them if you elect to do this.
The residue clause is the normal way that most people leave the bulk of the estate. Because of the possibility that people who may benefit could also die before you it needs to be flexible. The typical clause for people who are married with children leaves the bulk first to the spouse, provided the spouse survives, and then equally to the surviving children or their surviving children or spouses. The number of shares can change.
The executor is usually given a discretion to sell property as necessary to pay any debts and then to distribute the property. Most people leave their estate equally to their spouse, then their children or closest relatives. The page will lead you through the choices. Hopefully you will already know what you intend and the choices will be easy.
Next, you choose whether you want to print your will directly from the page or down load it to your disk and use your word processor to print the finished product. If you choose to print directly use 8.5" * 11" paper in your printer. There may be a gap which appears between the body of the will and the commencement of the signature clause. Draw a diagonal line through any large gap to insure that nothing can be added later. You and the witnesses should initial that change.
If you choose to save the will to disk and use your word processing program make sure you make that election prior to viewing. Otherwise the signature clause may not appear in proper form and will be time consuming to correct. Doing that will allow you to change the page size if you wish and to change your will in future as you will have a disk version. The choice is yours.
Finally, pay close attention to the execution or signing instructions. We recommend you print a copy or save them to your disk for printing later. Failing to comply with the witness requirements can void your will. There are some exceptions for military personnel in combat but we suggest that complying with the rules is easy and avoids all questions. Try to pick witnesses that know you well if possible.
We hope you enjoy using this page and invite your comments.