Why do I need a will?

1. You have minor children.
You should have a will in order to appoint guardians for your minor children, and trustees to manage their property. If you do not leave a will, the court may appoint a guardian whom you would not have chosen.

You also need to have a will in order to prevent minor children from inheriting real estate outright. Although minors have the legal capacity to own property, they do not have legal capacity to manage it. If your children inherit a share of your house, your spouse would not be able to sell it, rent it out, or even refinance the mortgage without a court order. Getting court orders is expensive and time consuming. Additionally, will provisions can be set up to restrict how and when young adults receive property. Would your 18 year old wisely manage a sizable inheritance on their own?

2. You have no children.
Do you know what would happen to your property if you died right now without a will? You might be surprised to find out that your spouse might not inherit everything. If you and your spouse have no children, your parents or siblings might inherit part of your home and become co-owners with your spouse. Your spouse would not be able to sell the house or other property without their permission, and vice versa. If you want to remember your parents or siblings in your will, it is best to leave them specific pieces of property that they will not have to share with your spouse.

3. You have a large family.
All of your heirs will become co-owners of every asset you own, and will have to manage all the property together. They may not live in the same state, or they may not be able to agree on what should be done with the property. The more heirs you have, the more money and effort they will have to spend trying to get organized. With a will, you could leave specific assets to specific heirs, or put one heir in charge as trustee for the others. Either way, having a will would save your heirs significant hassle and expense. It could also prevent acrimonious feuding.

4. You own real estate.
In the absence of a will, real estate may be inherited by minors or numerous co-owners, and either result may be costly or result in problems not easily anticipated. A little estate planning now can save your heirs significant expense and trouble later.