A Will is a legal document where you provide certain instructions to be carried out in the event of your death. You can use a Will to distribute your assets as well as identify your choice of guardians for your children. A Will is a critical part of the estate plans the attorneys at Oddie, Lynn & Grisanti, P.C. can develop for you, especially for parents of minor children.
Your will names beneficiaries who will receive your assets upon your death. You can leave your assets to individuals such as family members, friends, spouses, and domestic partners, or to organizations such as charities. Your Will can also list specific gifts, such as property, cash, jewelry, or family heirlooms, you want specific individuals to receive. Without a Will, these specific requests may not be made as you wish.
Without a Will, your property passes to individuals (or the state) based on the California Probate Code. Contact the will drafting attorneys at Oddie, Lynn & Grisanti, P.C. to draft an estate plan to help ensure your assets are distributed the people you want to receive them.
Most importantly, for parents of minor children, you can with your Will nominate a person to responsible to care for your children until they reach the age of 18, should you and your spouse die before this occurrence. You can also name a person to care for your children's finances until they reach majority. Without a Will, the court is left without information as to your wishes regarding your child's care. Contact the San Francisco estate planning attorneys at Oddie, Lynn & Grisanti, P.C. to make sure your wishes regarding your children are properly documented.
Pourover Wills
When the trust attorneys at Oddie, Lynn & Grisanti, P.C. draft your trust, your complete estate plan should include a Pourover Will. The Pourover Will has only one beneficiary - the testator's revocable living trust. The Pourover Will transfers (pours over) probate assets to the trust to so that these assets will be distributed/administered according to the distribution/administration plan in the trust. You can nominate executor(s) of your estate, guardians for your minor children, and direct distribution of tangible personal property to beneficiaries in the Pourover Will as you would in a regular will.
