Wills

When you die your life insurance, retirement plans, and IRAs will be distributed according to the beneficiary designation in those documents. Any of your financial institution accounts that have a beneficiary designation will also be distributed according to those designations. If you do not have a Will when you die, any other property you own that is not held jointly with another person, with right of survivorship, will be distributed according to rules established by the South Carolina State Legislature. With some exceptions, these rules generally match the most frequent choices that people make about to whom they want to give their property upon their death. However, most people who have both a life partner and children choose to leave all their property to their life partner. Absent a will, the rules require that your property be distributed 50% to your life partner and 50% to your children. (If you are not legally married to your life partner, the rules result in your children getting 100%.) This provision frequently causes a problem for the surviving life partner. For instance, if you own the house in which you and your partner live, upon your death your partner will be unable to sell or refinance the house without permission from all of your children. This requirement is especially disappointing when one or more of the children are below 18 years old because no one will have authority to give permission from the minor children unless someone takes the time and pays the cost to have a conservator appointed over each minor child. The application of this provision also means that any child can force the life partner to buy out the child's interest in the house or sell the house. This conversation is very hard on surviving life partners. Not only have they just lost their partner; but, then they learn that they do not have full rights to the house that they live in. I highly recommend that anyone with both a life partner and children allow me to prepare a will for them as soon as possible.

Most people will agree that Wills are important but over 50% of the people surveyed have not taken the necessary steps to ensure their family members, associates, and assets are directed as the owner intends.  Perhaps the large number of people who have left this important task undone  is indicative of the fact, no one likes to think about a time when we they are unable to personally carry out their desires but this day is an inevitable reality.

Fortunately, most Wills can be prepared and set up with sufficient detail to ensure the wishes of the owner are carried out exactly as they intended.  Our goal is to make the Will process as simple as possible for you to get this important matter addressed with minimal effort and minimal cost.

It's Decision Time:

Why not join the ranks of those who have a Will and the certainty that their loved ones, friends, and associates will receive the assets that were intended for them.

Don't leave the important decision about what will happen to your assets and those you care about in your absence to a process that you have no control over. 

Take Control, Plan ahead.  

Call Arthur Shealy, Attorney at Law TODAY to request a Free Consultation.