Who Needs A Will?

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I generally consider Wills to be a somewhat outdated traditional estate planning tool, which I generally do not recommend to clients as a standalone solution. (Though I have and will continue to create Wills for clients who so choose to do their estate planning this way, because I will always honor the client’s choice in their own affairs.)

Don’t get me wrong, Wills aren’t a bad thing — they just aren’t enough to cover your bases if you’re trying to get your property distributed privately, efficiently, and painlessly to your loved ones after you’re gone, or if you’re concerned about protecting your assets from Medicaid recovery. For more information on how to protect your assets from Medicaid recovery, or the estate plans that I’ve helped my own family create, check out my other blog posts.

So, who and what are Wills useful for? Wills are good for folks who want simplified estate planning, which primarily serves as formal instructions for the court to carry out about how the decedent’s belongings should be dispersed. Wills are also very useful for allowing someone the ability to designate a guardian for their minor children if they pass before the children are adults. In addition, Wills give people the ability to specifically list who they want to give all their personal property to, and what kind of funeral arrangements they want their loved ones to make for them.

Wills will NOT stop property from going through probate, but they do give the court specific instructions on how to distribute your property according to your wishes after your death during that probate process.

To avoid probate, Arkansas law requires pre-designations of property and for distributions to be made with documents such as beneficiary deeds and trusts, which directly transfer your property to your heirs after you pass away.

To discuss your situation in more detail and get a personalized estate plan, call or email my office anytime for a free consultation.