WILL OR NO WILL?

    You should not assume that when your husband or wife dies, everything will
    automatically comes to you. It is normally true only if the property is jointly
    owned by Husband and Wife. If your husband or wife dies and the property is
    under his or her name alone, in most states, the surviving husband or wife is
    entitled to only about one half of the assets of a deceased spouse. The rest will
    be passed to the children.

    If you die without a will, the division and distribution of your estate is governed
    by an "intestate" law. If you are survived by a spouse and children (or
    grandchildren), your estate is usually divided between your spouse and children.
    If you have only children (or grandchildren), the estate is divided among your
    children (and grandchildren). If you have neither spouse, children, nor
    grandchildren, the estate is distributed to your parents, brothers and sisters,
    grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins, depending on who survives you.

    You may be very surprised to find out that not only half of your spouse’
    property goes to your children, but if your children are minors, the court must
    appoint a guardian for the property passing to the children. In some states the
    surviving parent cannot be appointed as the guardian. That means, you not only
    have to raise the children without your spouse, you do not have the right to the
    assets passed to them. You may find yourself in an awkward and painful
    situation.

    A will gives you power to distribute your assets the way you wish. A will gives
    you power to appoint a guardian of your choice for your minor children. A will
    gives you power to appoint a trustee of your choice for your minor children. A
    will can save you taxes if your assets exceed certain amounts.

    A will only controls the assets in your name that are part of your estate, and
    there are many types of assets which are not part of your estate and do not pass
    under a will. For example, life insurance, annuities, retirement benefits, and
    individual retirement accounts are usually payable to a named beneficiary, so
    they are not part of the estate and are not controlled by the will. Also, property
    owned by a husband and wife as tenants by the entireties, or by one or more
    persons as joint tenants with rights of survivorship, automatically pass to the
    surviving owner, regardless of what is said in a will. If all of your assets are
    jointly owned with your husband or wife, a will may not be needed if your
    husband or wife survives you. You should discuss  your situation with an
    attorney.
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