What Happens if You Don’t Make A Will?

Making a will is very important, but many people don’t take the time to do it because it can be an intimidating process. Even if you don’t think you have enough assets to warrant making a will, you should still create one to be sure that your property gets distributed to people that are important to you. Making a will is actually not as difficult as many people believe it is, particularly if you engage the help of a lawyer. If you don’t make a will, there are certain procedures that are used to distribute your property when you die. Here is what happens when someone dies without a will.

The state may use your property to pay off your debts.
When you die, you are still responsible to some extent for your taxes and other debts. To handle these, the state will use your existing property to pay them off. This includes your financial assets, but they may have to liquidate some of your other assets for this to happen as well.

Your property will be distributed among your living relatives according to law.
Instead of your property being distributed the way you want, it will be distributed among your relatives according to law. If you are married, your estate will usually go entirely to your surviving spouse, although in some cases it may be distributed among your children as well. If you have children but are single, the estate will be split among your children. If you are single with no kids, the estate usually will be split among living sibilings. This is all decided in probate court after your death. It is incredibly important to make a will if you want part of your estate to go to an unmarried partner or a friend, as the law will not recognize your relationship and they will have no legal access to your property.

Your kids will be appointed a guardian by the state.
One of the most important parts of making a will is appointing a guardian for your child. This ensures that if you pass away while your children are still minors, they will be adequately cared for by someone that you trust. If you pass away without a will and your children are still minors, this can have devastating consequences for them. Your kids will be appointed a guardian by the court system, and although in many cases this turns out to be a family member the kids already know of or are comfortable with, there are also cases where this wouldn’t work out as well as you’d hoped. To prevent this from happening, you should have a will finalized while your kids are still young, even if you (and your partner) are both healthy.

Your family will have to spend money and time on extensive legal proceedings.
One of the most challenging parts for the family of someone who dies without a will is that they have to spend time in probate court fighting for the wishes of what the deceased wanted. This is not only very stressful and sometimes unsuccessful, but it can cost much more money than they were anticipating spending. It is much more financially savvy to just pay the legal fees to create a will while you are alive instead of letting the much larger burden of figuring out your will later on rest on your family.

If you don’t have a will, you can easily get started creating one today. There are many services that can help you create a will online, but for best results, it helps to work with a lawyer who has experience in drawing up estate documents. They will be able to complete the will quickly and ensure there are no problems with the document.