What Not to Put in Your Will
A will is a basic estate planning tool. It designates how a person wants his assets to distribute to his loved ones. It is required because if someone dies without a will, the assets are distributed as per the law of the land. It may not be in line with the wish of the person.
To ensure the correctness and validity of a will, you need to consult a wills lawyer Adelaide.
What should never be included in a will? Well, the lawyer will tell you about that. Here are a few of the different assets that you should never put in the will.
Welfare and care of someone who needs special attention
Wills and estate lawyer Adelaide would always advise you not to include the name of the person in the will, who needs special care and attention.
You should build a special needs trust, instead. The creation of trust is complex, though. When we have to plan for the care of someone that needs special care, various unique considerations should be made.
Including digital assets in the will
There have to be different plans for digital assets. They should not be included in the will. Some digital assets have special functions that allow the user to grant some individual access and/or to have control on account after the demise of the user.
Giving right of survivorship
A will should cover assets that are solely owned in the name. Therefore, any property held in joint tenancy or community property with the right of survivorship should never be included in the will.
Such assets are passed automatically to the surviving co-owner or owners when a person dies. Therefore, it makes no sense in including it in the will.
If the person wants specifically to transfer the same to the co-owner, then it is mandatory to change the title to the asset as part of the asset planning process.
Ask the wills lawyer Adelaide about the details of survivorship.
Specific assets with designated beneficiaries
Some assets allow the owner to name a beneficiary to inherit them. These assets get passed directly to the individual, institution, or organization. There is no need for additional planning.
A few examples of the common assets with the beneficiary designation are Retirement account and pension, payable-on-death bank account, Life insurance, or annuity.
Your Wills and estate lawyer Adelaide should give the clarity about that.
Pet and money for pet care
As per the law, animals are personal property. Therefore, one cannot include or mention them in the will.
