Why is a Will important?

Planning ahead keeps you in charge of the future. In order to plan for distribution of your property to your legal heirs in the future one must create a valid Will. If you do not have a Will, state law will decide how to distribute your assets upon your demise.    This may cause inordinate delays before your rightful heirs can inherit their rightful property.

What is a Will?

A Will is a legal document created by a person, a testator, who is an adult of sound mind who records his wishes to be carried out upon his death. This document is created to ensure that the property and assets that the testator has accumulated during his or her lifetime are distributed according his or her wishes and not left up to the state to dispense.

What happens if you do not create a Will? No Will – No good

Without a will, you will be seen through the government’s eyes as having died “intestate” and your property will be distributed according to the laws of the state in which you reside. Additionally, the state will claim a portion of the your property towards expenses for the actual administration of your intestate estate. Your estate may also be assessed state inheritance taxes and federal estate taxes.

If you do not have a Will and you have children under the age of 18, who are considered minors, the Court will decide who will get custody of your minor children. The court appointed guardian will raise the children and will be responsible for managing their assets. If you do not have a spouse or close relatives the state may even end up taking your property.

What information do you need to gather before you create a Will?

Gather information about your assets including information about your personal and real (movable and immovable) property that you wish to leave to your heirs. Gather names and birth dates of your immediate family members. Decide who you would like to appoint as guardian for your minor children. Even when a child is over the age of 18, you may wish to create a Trust provision in your Will, wherein the inheritance that you wish to give to your child is managed by a person of your choice known as a Trustee until your child attains a specified age of maturity.

Advanced Directives

Another important document is an Advanced Directive or a Health Care Power of Attorney. This document appoints an individual whom you have specifically chosen, to be your representative or agent, to act on your behalf and make health care decisions in the event you are incapable of making those decisions. This appointed representative shall have the power and authority to inform health care providers of your health decisions when you are unable to do so.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Swati M. Kothari, is the founder of Law Offices of Swati M. Kothari, a general practice law firm serving the legal needs of businesses and individuals in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

For more information please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an expert and/or lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.