Last Wills and the Law
The Law and Wills

Wills are documents in which a person gives rights over his or her property or family to others. This, for all intentions and purposes, is what you may use to make sure that everything goes smoothly after you die. Those considering drafting wills should keep a couple of things in mind.

A will must be published. This fundamentally implies the makers of wills must identify themselves as such, and clearly state that a will is being made.

The maker must also revoke all prior wills. The simplest way for the prior wills to be completely revoked in this situation would be having the new will totally inconsistent with the old one.

The maker also must show that he is prepared is willing and able to dispose of and disperse the property in question.

This means that beneficiaries and their spouses can't witness the will.

The signature must come at the very end of the will. Any text following the signature is considered void, and will not be valid.

Wills can be written by any person over the age of majority.

After the maker of the will has passed away, the will can be brought to court to ascertain validity. This is also the time when an executor of the will is allocated. Typically , the executor is elected by the maker of the will, and is meant to take the document to court, and carry out the directions on the will.

The executor should also look after disbursing property to the beneficiaries, finding other potential heirs, collecting and organizing for the payment of estate debt, as well as several other duties that rely on the will.

Also keep in mind that a will is not the same as a living will or an enduring power of attorney, 2 other popular estate documents. Both of those forms take effect while you are still alive. Wills only take effect after death.