Everyone needs a Will. Even if you have a revocable living trust. Even if you don’t have very much money. Even if most of your money is in retirement accounts. You still need a Will.
A Will is a backup in case probate is required. Even if you plan to avoid probate, there are several reasons why probate might still be necessary. For example, if you have a trust but you do not fund it properly, meaning there are still assets in your own name, your estate will need to be probated.
This can also happen with the property you acquire after creating a trust that you forget or don’t have time to put in the name of the trust. So even if you decide to put all your assets in a revocable living trust, you should still create a backup Will, called a Pour-Over Will.
Accounts with designated beneficiaries, like retirement or life insurance, can also end up in probate if the designated beneficiary is no longer alive at the time of your death. In all these cases, having your estate go to probate without a Will means that the state default intestacy laws will dictate what happens to your assets, a result you may not want.
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Often people think they don’t need a Will or other estate planning documents because they don’t have very much money. But not having much money makes it more important, not less. People with small estates may be the ones most in need of planning because their dependents can least afford to incur unnecessary costs and delays.
Finally, and most critically if you have minor children you absolutely must have a Will. If minor children are left without parents, either because of death or incapacity, they will need guardians. Washington state law allows parents to designate guardians for their minor children, but only in a Will.
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Service Areas:
Eastside Estate Planning is dedicated to providing estate planning, last will, and trusts services to individuals and families in the following areas:
Bellevue | Redmond | Monroe | Duvall
If you reside in any of these locations and are in need of professional estate planning assistance, we are here to help. Robert is committed to delivering personalized and top-quality estate planning solutions to clients within these cities. Contact us today to discuss your estate planning needs and secure the future of your assets.
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