Estate Planning Services | Last Will & Testament
Will the State divide your assets?
If you die without a will in Virginia, state law mandates that your property and assets be distributed as the Commonwealth sees fit. Distribution would normally be to your spouse and children, or if none, to other family members. This means you are relying on politicians to guess who you would have distributed your money and assets to. Need we say more? A will allows you to alter the Commonwealth's default plan to suit your personal preferences.
A will helps your family
A will provides for the distribution of property owned by you at the time of your death in any manner you choose. Wills eliminate family fights over assets, as well as major and expensive court involvement.
Wills can achieve a wide range of family and tax objectives, such as:
• Outright distribution of assets.
• Designate a guardian for your minor children and eliminate the need for bonds and court supervision regarding
the care of each minor child's estate.
• Establish one or more trusts to minimize taxes and ensure continued property management and creditor
protection for the surviving family members.
• Designate an executor of your estate and eliminate the need for a bond.
• Enhance your support of religious, educational, and other charitable causes.
What a will does not do
A will does not govern the transfer of certain types of assets, called nonprobate property, which by operation of law or contract pass to someone else on your death. For example, real estate and other assets owned with rights of survivorship pass automatically to the surviving owner. Likewise, an IRA or insurance policy payable to a named beneficiary passes outside the will.
How to execute a will
Alperin Law serves individuals and families in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, and Newport News and can help you think through how best to distribute your estate and assets. Once your plan is together, we will draft the will for your review. Wills are signed in the presence of witnesses and certain formalities must be observed.
An amendment to the will, whether one week or one year later, must be signed with the same formalities.
In Virginia, the will may refer to a memorandum disposing of tangible personal property, such as furniture, jewelry, automobiles, etc., which may be changed from time to time without the formalities of a will. We can also help you with this procedure.
In Virginia, a will that is formally executed with the proper attestation clause and notarized signatures is deemed to be self proved and may be admitted to probate without testimony of witnesses or other additional proof.
Jointly-Owned Property
One common type of Non-probate Property is the Jointly-Owned Property. If you own property with another person as joint tenants with right of survivorship, that is, not as tenants in common, the property will pass directly to the remaining joint tenant upon your death and will not be a part of your probate estate. It will, however, be a part of your taxable estate.
Frequently, people (particularly in old age) will cause bank accounts or securities to be placed in the name of the owner with one or more children or trusted friends as joint tenants with right of survivorship. This is sometimes done as a matter of convenience to give the joint tenant continuing access to accounts to pay bills.
It is important to realize that the ownership of property in this fashion often leads to unexpected or unwanted results. Disputes, including litigation, are common between the estate of the original owner and the surviving joint tenant as to whether the survivor's name was added as a matter of convenience and/or management or whether a gift was intended.
The planning built into a well-drawn will may be partially or completely thwarted by an inadvertently created joint tenancy that passes property to a beneficiary by operation of law, rather than under the terms of the will.
Many of these problems are also applicable to institutional revocable trusts and "pay on death" forms of ownership of bank, broker, and mutual fund accounts and savings bonds.
Effective estate planning requires knowledge of the consequences of each property interest and technique. Alperin Law will gladly discuss these estate planning situations with you so that your decision will be as you intended -- not altered by laws you were not aware of.
About Alperin Law
Our law firm provides a wide variety of estate planning services including wills, trusts, advance medical directives, estate planning tools, asset protection, minimize estate taxes, beneficiaries, revocable trusts, irrevocable trusts, life insurance trusts, medical powers of attorney, durable powers of attorney, probate and estate administration, and tax planning. Our estate planning attorneys serve clients in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Hampton Roads, and throughout Virginia.
For a no-cost phone consultation, feel free to call us at (757) 490-3500 or fill out this form.
