WHY YOU NEED A WILL
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Everyone should have a will. If you die without a will (or living trust), state intestacy law will determine who inherits your property- not you. These rules are exactly the same for everybody who dies without a will, regardless of his or her circumstances.
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In effect, when you die without a will, you let your state legislators write a will for you. Their choices may or may not match your desires. Chances are they won’t. Kentucky intestacy laws leave half of your estate to your surviving spouse and half to your children. If you have no spouse or children, your estate will go to your parents or your siblings if your parents are deceased.
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Here, for example, are just a few situations that intestacy laws are not designed to handle: you want to leave gifts to someone other than your spouse and children; you have children from a prior marriage; you want to leave your children unequal shares of your estate.
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You need a will even if you think you have disposed of all your property through a living trust. Property can pass to your beneficiaries through your living trust only if you have transferred the property into the trust.
• You may forget or neglect to transfer some property to your trust.
• You may acquire property shortly before death and not have a chance to transfer it to your trust.
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• Your estate may acquire property after you die. For example, you may have an inheritance that’s tied up in probate until after your death, or you may be a party to a lawsuit that does not settle until after your death.
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In these cases, without a will, the property will pass in accordance with your state’s intestacy laws. With a will, it can pass into your living trust or to whomever you name as your residuary beneficiaries. They will take any property that your will doesn’t otherwise dispose of.
Here are three more reasons why you need a will, even if you have a living trust:
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• Some property is better disposed of by a will than a living trust. For example, motor vehicles are not typically transferred to a living trust because insurance companies hesitate to insure such vehicles.
• You may need to name a guardian for minor children. In most places, you can name a guardian
only in a will.
• You may want to use a will to dispose of small ticket items if probate won’t be required or will be inexpensive. If you’ve arranged to pass your big ticket items through a trust or other probate avoidance device, you may want to use a will to give away smaller value items, for example, grandpa’s watch, or small cash gifts. These assets may not need to pass through probate or may qualify for simplified low-cost procedures.