JK Lasser's New Rules for Estate, Retirement, and Tax Planning, 6th Edition

CHAPTER 6You Don't Have a Will? Big Trouble!

There's no way to get around it. Thinking about death is downright depressing. The emotional burdens of merely considering it can easily overshadow any financial or legal planning. However, not writing your will and failing to do even the most basic estate planning can have disastrous effects on your loved ones and other survivors.

Let's take a closer look at how property is transferred to your heirs if you die without a will. If you die without a will, you are said to die intestate. In essence, you have delegated your last wishes to your state legislators. Your unwritten will reads something like this:

I, being of sound mind, do hereby direct that the legislators of my state handle my estate as follows:

The state may appoint my surviving spouse as the administrator of my estate, or, in its infinite wisdom, the state may appoint someone completely unknown to my family.

My administrator will be required to post (an expensive) bond to provide “insurance” in case he or she is incompetent as my estate representative.

My surviving spouse is to receive one half of my estate. The other half is to go to my three‐year‐old daughter.

Since my child is a minor, the state may choose my surviving spouse or someone unknown to my family to act as “conservator” to manage my child's assets. In either case, another (expensive) bond must be purchased annually and the conservator must periodically appear before the court (more fees) to provide an accounting ...