5+ Last Will and Testament Templates – PDF
Life can be tough and it can hit people really hard. Especially when you know your days are numbered and you want everything prepared before you bid this world goodbye. In some cases, old age also calls for preparations of papers, documentation, and legalities so that everything is settled for you to leave all you have invested in, and worked hard for to who you think are the rightful heirs. Or maybe you just want to make sure that your assets and properties are divided according to how you intend it to. In this case, it is vital to have an ally on your side who can give you the best and most expert advice based on their professional experience. You may also see the general power of attorney forms.
Last Will and Testament Sample
georgialegalaid.org
Last Will and Testament Form
willforms.org
Last Will and Testament
argos.lib.in.us
Importance of a Last Will and Testament
Writing a will have not been one of people’s top priorities, despite the fact that its arguably one of the most important documents somebody will ever sign. Perhaps, it’s due to the depressing thought that leaving this world one day or because it’s really one, tough, emotional process, on top of being filled with pressure. No one likes to think about how long they have until they leave their loved ones, but if you have children, it’s more than necessary to have a legal will secured and locked in a safe or with a lawyer you trust, to ensure that the future of your children is secured, especially if they are still young. After all, you work to give your family what they need. You may also see trust agreement templates.
You dedicate blood, sweat, and tears so that they will never go hungry or possibly live the most comfortable lives you can provide them, even after you’re gone. It’s not nice to think about who will be financially responsible for the welfare of your kids, should the inevitable happen and they’re left as orphans. It’s an ugly and terrifying thought. But for the sake of their well-being and you and your spouse’s peace of mind, at the very least, you should be able to have things like these written down and documented. You may also see sample medical power of attorney forms.
Hiring a Lawyer
Your best shot at a well-written and carefully planned will is probably through hiring a lawyer who specializes in death taxes and has experience in dividing assets, especially when they are multifaceted, or when they involve trusts, shares, full or part ownership of a company or a business. Legally, this can be extremely complicated, but a skilled lawyer will be able to get you through it, so you also have to choose which lawyer or firm to trust. A lawyer who is especially knowledgeable in dealing with death taxes can save your beneficiary thousands of dollars from so many taxes they can’t quite understand. The downside is that hiring a lawyer can cost a lot, but sill definitely worth it. You may also see legal contract forms.
Do-it-Yourself Wills Won’t Do
Estate planning can get tricky when done in a hurry, and the given rules generally assume what counts as likely situations. In the event that your specific needs won’t be met by those assumptions, you will have such a hard time in writing your own will, the way you choose to, without seeking legal advice from any professional whatsoever. These situations sometimes include families with non-American citizenship members, as well as common law couples or those that aren’t legally married. You also have to think about old people raising their grandchildren. When in doubt, the best solution is still to have an attorney who can take care and explain all these things to you, before you draft and sign a will that would get your beneficiary in trouble, instead of helping them in the end. You may also see legal contract templates.
Choosing Your Lawyer
The challenge is in selecting which lawyer to pick out of so many who specializes in litigation or last will and testaments for people who have much to leave and just as much to lose. You may also see legal statement templates.
1. Do Your Research
You have to do your research urgently because you will be pressed for time. The sooner you hire a qualified and good professional, the better off you will be. Know what to do before panicking but keep in mind that stakes are too high. Some people close to you will have expectations. Others will fight tooth and nail just to make sure they get what they think is rightfully theirs, and they might put you in grave danger, in trying to get what they want, when they know you have left so little, or nothing for them at all. When it comes to money, there’s no telling what evil even the most sensible of people can do. This is why it is vital to get an attorney who can make sure that the document and every change you demand to make on it once it is already done, written and signed, will be able to keep it under lock and key, for obvious reasons. You may also see legal agreement samples.
2. Trust those with Experience
Experience counts so much but does not necessarily give you a one-way ticket to victory. However, hiring one who is competent and knows what he is doing, will provide you with better chances and few regrets. Just as you do not want an unqualified doctor to operate on you, you also do not want an inexperienced attorney who will treat one of the most important documents of your life, as part of his trial and error practice. You may also see free legal form templates.
3. Don’t Bet on Cheap
Cheap is not a good decision when dealing with the law. Your life is not cheap, but the jail bars for crooks who want to get hold of your money faster than you have planned, are. So do well to choose someone who has your best interests and safety at heart. If a person charges so low, chances are, he does not have enough clients. And there may be a reason behind it that you may not want to find out about. Instead of being able to save, you could be faced with the possibilities of replacing a bad lawyer, thus making you incur additional costs and worse, gets you straight to an early grave. You may also see law curriculum vitae templates.
4. Do Your Legwork
Never hire someone over the phone without meeting them first. You have to know if the attorney makes you feel right or uncomfortable. It is best to go with someone who believes enough in your story to represent you in a good fight. He should be familiar not only with your story but also on what the other side is going to play with. Or everyone involved for that matter. This will determine your chances of having a well-drafted will that will play on your side of the fence and carry it out just the way you want to, but with more legal weight. Either way, you will know how you will be faring, as a good lawyer will tell you straight up what you expect and what to avoid. You may also see power of attorney templates.
Example of a Single Individual Last Will and Testament
legal-aid.co.za
Basic Will
kcba.org
Writing your will can be very tiring, emotionally and financially, especially when you think about all the legal responsibilities it involves. With your loved ones counting on you to get the job done right, though, it pays to find out everything you need to know or hire a professional who can help you set, organize and put your affairs in order. You may also see word agreement templates.
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