If you’re planning to leave your estate to your loved ones, it’s important to have a will in place. A will can help to ensure that your wishes are carried out after you die, protect your assets from creditors and provide guidelines for the management of your estate.
Luckily, in this age you don’t even need to use expensive lawyers to have your will drafted. It’s easy to create one in hours using online tools like Wills Trusts LPA.
In this quick guide, we share six simple steps on how to make a will online. Let’s dive in!
Make sure your estate is properly valued
When writing a will, it’s important to know the proper valuation of your estate. There are a few things you can do to ensure that your estate is accurately valued:
Seek the services of an estate planning attorney
An attorney can help you piece together your assets and create a will that takes account of all liabilities. They can also review any existing documentation to make sure all assets and debts are properly listed.
Conduct an in-person will appraisal
If you don’t have any documentation or if something isn’t clear from the documents alone, an in-person appraisal may be necessary. Appraisers use their expertise to determine the fair market value of your assets, taking into account location, age, condition, etc.
This can help ensure that your loved ones receive the maximum possible inheritance based on what is available at the time of your death.
Decide who you want as beneficiaries of your estate
The purpose of this step is to determine the order in which your property will be distributed after your death. Remember, if you do not specify an heir, the court may appoint one for you.
For starters, decide what property you would like to leave to whom. This can include everything from real estate to savings accounts and investments.
With this information at hand, it’s time to list who you want as beneficiaries of specific types of property, such as your primary residence or life insurance policies.
Also, specify any special instructions or conditions that must be met by a beneficiary in order to inherit the property, such as being age 18 or over or having a certain level of income.
And if you would like to donate money to a charity in your will, you can set up an account with a registered charity and deposit your donation directly into their account. Alternatively, you can set up a trust and donate the money through the trust.
You can also choose to allocate a specific amount of money from your estate to charity every year. This is known as a yearly gift arrangement.
Choose your executors
For your will to be executed, you must appoint somebody to carry out its wishes. There are a few things you should consider when choosing your executors:
- They should have the legal authority to act on your behalf
- They should be individuals you can trust
- They should have the knowledge and resources necessary to carry out your will.
Write your will
If you are ready to write your will, there are many online writing services available to help. The idea here is to find a service that’s flexible enough for your needs.
Some services provide basic forms and templates you can use while others offer more tailored options. Most also offer tutorials and real-time support if you’re stuck anywhere when drafting your will.
Once you’re done writing the will, be sure to examine and make any final adjustments before submitting it for review.
Sign your will
Once your will is approved, it’s time to print it out and sign it in front of two witnesses. The will is now considered valid and ready for execution.
Store your will safely
There are a couple of ways to safely store your will, depending on your preferences and needs. One option is to have a will preservation service take care of safeguarding your document for you. Luckily, most online wills services offer this service for free or at a very small fee.
If you’d rather not hassle with digitizing your will, you can simply print it out and store it in a safe place. Make sure to keep all original copies of the document safe as well, in case something were to happen to the digital version.
Most importantly, your designated executors need to know where they can find the wills.
Conclusion
Wills can be an important part of estate planning, as they help to ensure that your loved ones are taken care of when you’re gone. If you’re ready to make your will online, follow the steps we just outlined in this guide to create a will that accurately reflects your wishes and meets any legal requirements.
Finally, if you have any questions or concerns regarding the process, don’t hesitate to contact an attorney for more direction. Good luck!
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