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ELEVEN REASONS WHY
YOU SHOULD HAVE A WILL
By Martin H. Cohen,
Esq.
1. Write a will or the
state will write one for you. Under the laws of intestacy, the state of
Florida will allocate your assets among your family. If you have no family,
the assets will go to the State of Florida. With a will, you choose your
beneficiaries.
2. Select the person
who will handle your affairs. State law gives preference to certain
family members in the appointment of your Personal Representative, unless
you select one in your will.
3. Save your family
time and probate costs. With a will, estate administration will move
more quickly, the costs of administration will be lower, and you can save
estate taxes by including certain provisions in your will. In addition, your
Personal Representative will be able to sell real estate without a court
order.
4. Create trust
provisions for minors and young adults. Without a will, a guardian must
be appointed to manage the property of a minor, and the guardian must obtain
court approval for all expenditures. This is an expensive and time-consuming
process. In addition, at age 18, the young adult will have full access to
the inheritance, even if he or she is too immature to handle it. With a
properly drafted will, you may appoint a trustee to manage the property in a
"testamentary trust" (any trust created in a will) for minors and
young adults, and you may choose when and how they will receive their
inheritance.
5. Preserve government
benefits. If you make a bequest to a disabled person of any age who is
receiving Medicaid or other government benefits, you could cause the
beneficiary to lose those benefits, unless the bequest is included in
a “special needs trust” under your will.
6.
Protect a spouse on Medicaid. Don’t disinherit your spouse if he or
she is receiving Medicaid nursing home benefits. This could terminate his or
her eligibility. However, you can provide for your spouse, while preserving
those benefits and not “giving it all to the nursing home” or the
government by including a “qualifying special needs trust” in your
will.
7. Protect the
inheritance against divorce and lawsuits. With a testamentary trust, you
may provide that the beneficiary’s inheritance will be protected against a
lawsuit for an under-insured medical claim or a personal injury claim. You
can also protect the beneficiary should he or she ever file for bankruptcy
or get divorced.
8. Protect your
children's inheritance from second marriages. You may not wish to leave
all of your estate outright to your spouse. Rather, you may wish to leave
some of your estate to your spouse in a testamentary trust. You might
provide, for example, that your spouse will receive all of the income as
well as any principal that he or she might need for support. Your spouse can
even be the trustee. However, this assures you that when your spouse dies,
the remaining principal will be distributed to your children (and not to a
second spouse or that spouse's family).
9. Special provisions
that you can include in your will. You can leave burial instructions,
provide for alternate personal representatives, trustees and guardians. In
addition, you always retain the right to amend or revoke your will should
you see the need for change.
10. Make a gift to
charity. With a will, you can leave something to your favorite charity.
11. Give yourself peace
of mind. By making a will, you will know that you have put your affairs
in order, and your family will know that you cared enough to do so.
If you have questions about anything on this
website, or if you wish to schedule an appointment, contact Mr. Cohen at
(954) 315-0355
or by
E-mail.
Mr. Cohen maintains two offices for the practice of
Estate Planning, Elder Law and Disability Law in Broward County, Florida
for the convenience of his clients:
Flamingo Falls Professional Center
1806 N. Flamingo Rd.
Suite 300
Pembroke Pines, FL 33028
and
Crossroads One
8201
Peters Rd., Suite 1000
Plantation (Fort Lauderdale),
FL 33324
For those of you who are unfamiliar with South Florida geography, Broward
County has 30 municipalities, including:
Coconut Creek,
Cooper City,
Coral Springs,
Dania Beach,
Davie,
Deerfield Beach,
Fort Lauderdale,
(Ft. Lauderdale),
Hallandale Beach,
Hillsboro Beach,
Hollywood,
Lauderhill,
Lauderdale Lakes,
Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, Lazy Lake,
Lighthouse Point,
Margate,
Miramar,
North Lauderdale,
Oakland Park,
Parkland,
Pembroke Park,
Pembroke Pines,
Plantation,
Pompano Beach,
Sea Ranch Lakes,
Southwest Ranches,
Sunrise,
Tamarac,
Weston,
Wilton Manors.
For
information on these cities, click on the appropriate link.
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