Work for most of life and let the property go in vain!. Estate planning is often thought about in terms of numbers, property, assets and finances. While estate planning does involve all of these things, the primary focus of a good estate plan is the people who will benefit from it from your efforts and legacy. To avoid that everybody should make a will. Will is not only for the rich. Basic will tells the law who inherits the property. It is important that the loved ones are present at the time of making a will as there would be no quarrels later. Additionally, this also can help protect against any family members seeking to challenge the contents of the will in an expensive and time-consuming will contest.

It is individual choice whether his/her members of family are present. Many people approaches the attorney in private to make a will as they do not want uncomfortable conversation with members of family. It is better if you have your family with you at the time of making the will. A decision that may seem unreasonable after an individual’s death when they are not there to explain, so it is much more understandable and acceptable to have conversation with the family. It is better to have at least one person to discuss the matter, the person who is close to the testator (person who is making a will). Involving family dose not mean giving them all the decision making power.

If you fail to make a will, state’s intestacy usually leaves the property to the blood relatives. But the problem with this is many Americans have non traditional families and unfortunately, this may not be in line with your wishes or what is best for your family. Wills are of many types.

Statutory Will: It is a form with yes or no and fill in the blanks. This kind of will can be made easily but it is not accepted in all states. States like California gives pre-printed forums(Statutory forums). But these forums are made in general and they may not fulfill all your needs.

Handwritten Will: This will is written by won hands. Holographic (Handwritten) can be written in as many pages as you want. The reason is you have to be specific about who gets what. Signature of the testator is mandatory at the bottom of the page along with date and time of preparing the will. This will prove that the testator was had sound mind while preparing the will. Signature of a witness is also needed at the bottom as to prove that the will was made by the testator itself. How ever in some states this is not needed.
Testamentary Trust Will: This kind of Will creates a trust. These kind of Wills are made in case of kids inheriting the property. First you have to name the members of the trust. Usually there would be more than one person as the second person would take over in the absence of the first person. Powers given to the trustees should be specific and clear. Then the relatives who get their share of assets should be named.
Pour-Over Will: This kind of Wills are made to donate all the property to charity.
Oral Will(Noncupative Will): This kind of will is made by people in their death bead. At least two people should be present at the time of oral will. This will will be valid only if the testator dies. One of the witness should write down the will within 30 days of the testator speaking.
Video Will: As the name suggests this kind of Will is recorded as the testator speaks. A hard copy of the will usually accompanies video will.
Joint Will: This kind of will made by two testators. According to this kinds of wills, if one testator dies then the other testator gets the property.
Self-proving Will: A will accompanied by self-proving affidavit is Self proving will. The affidavit should be made at the same time will was made. Two witnesses should sign affidavit proving that testator was in good health at the time of preparing the will and the will was in fact testator’s will. This saves the time and money of the court to finding the witnesses. Witnesses should not be testator’s relatives of beneficiaries of the will. This is not accepted in all the states though.
Living Will: This will is different from other wills. It dose not involve property but it gives power to a person to decide what treatments you want or do not want in case of serious injury or unable to talk. To make this will you need to consult a doctor and a lawyer. It is also called advance medical directive.
These are the types of wills you can find.

David Parker has been involved in a variety of business and legal positions throughout his career. Most recently he was the deputy general counsel at an international private equity firm. As a law firm licensed to practice in the state of New York, we offer various legal forms for you such as New York divorce forms and marital separation agreements, plus real estate planning documents such as wills, powers of attorney and living wills specific to the state of New York. Our fixed pricing includes legal advice sufficient for you to confidently utilize these legal forms and documents. For any kind of wills you can visit us at http://www.davidparkeresq.com.