The last thing that anybody wants to think about is the moment of their death. However, that’s exactly what responsible Georgians do when they want to prepare for the future – especially when they’re thinking about their families.
Drafting a will offers your estate and your family an enormous amount of benefits. Conversely, failing to draft one can come with an enormous amount of difficulty.
The benefits of drafting your will
Here are some of the things a will can achieve:
— Control the distribution of your estate: Your will is a document that’s legally binding. A such, if you decide that your daughter will receive the family jewels, she will receive them. Failing to create a will before you die, however, means that Georgia state law will determine its dispensation, and that could lead to family infighting, disagreements and expensive, time-consuming legal battles in probate court.
— Choose who will be the guardian of your children: This benefit alone is reason enough for all Georgia parents to draft their wills now. If you don’t designate who will take care of your kids in a will, then a family law judge will decide. Without designating a guardian, there could be disagreements and court battles that ensue between competing relatives who’d like to be the guardians of your children.
— Make probate proceedings easier: Every estate needs to go through probate. However, when estates don’t have wills, a lot more decisions will need to be made by the court with regard to the estate’s distribution. Having a will makes probate faster, easier and cheaper for your heirs.
— Choose your estate administrator: Perhaps you have someone in mind who you trust and would like to serve as the executor of your estate. In your will, you can name this person to be your executor. You can even name second and third choices in the event that your first-chosen executor cannot fulfill the role.
Get help drafting your will from an attorney
You can certainly draft your will via an online form. Arguably, however, the wisest choice is to get help from an experienced estate planning lawyer. A lawyer will draft your will in a way that it has a much better chance of withstanding any challenges to its validity in court. A lawyer will also be able to suggest different powerful estate planning tools that can benefit you and your family immensely.
