Importance of making a will

The government takes half your money while your are alive.

Surprisingly, 50% of South Carolinians appear to be PLEASED since that's how many South Carolinians let the Legislature do their estate planning.

If you die without a will, the legislature has crafted and estate plan that splits up all your worldly possessions giving NO consideration to your individual wishes. The government has decided how to divide everything you own.

We spend one-third of our lives working, saving, and sacrificing--its a real comfort to know the state has a plan for our assets that we spend a lifetime carefully accumulating.

If you have a nest egg and people that you love . . . and others you avoid the one time you see them during the holidays, you need a will!

If someone dies without a properly executed will in South Carolina the law is clear regarding the division of the decedent's estate. When a person dies intestate (lawyer speak for no will) leaving:

• A spouse with no kids, then your spouse takes the entire estate.

• A spouse with kids, then your spouse gets half and your children split what is left.

• It is possible that South Carolina would get the estate if no heirs are living.

Quick! Name 5 ways your would rather give away your money than leaving it to the government. Pause.

Not very hard is it. Neither is making a will. In estate planning, the key is planning. Most people can create a will after one meeting with an attorney that will provide for the person's wishes throughout their lifetime. For most people a simple will costs between $300-$500. Relative to the size of a person's estate, this cost is extremely low. A will may very well be the best dollar for dollar value you can get from an attorney. (Have you ever been through a divorce?)

Hopefully, you got a chuckle out of the message thus far. It is my wish that we can maintain a light heart when it comes to estate planning. Many put it off because they do not want to consider the thought of their death. OK, this is a valid emotion, but let's face it, its not about you. For sure, we all want to provide for the one's we love, we do this all our lives. A will is nothing more than an explanation of how you want to continue to provide for those you love.

Here, some definitions are relevant. A person who dies leaving a will is frequently referred to as the testator, so called because the testator has left us with a testament, the will, that testifies to his or her wishes subsequent to death. How bad was that? Think of making your will as a simple addition to that long list of things you are already doing for your family.

Nuts and bolts, "giterdone."

When you meet with a lawyer take the following information.

TESTATOR

• Testator's name, including any former names (if female, maiden name, if married, and last name in any previous marriages).

• Testator's home and business addresses and telephone numbers.

• Date and place of testator's birth. Date testator came to South Carolina, if not native born. Length of present residence in state. Length of residence in county.

• Testator's marital history, including: name and address of present spouse; date and place of present marriage; location of present marriage certificate; names and addresses of previous spouses, if any; dates and places of previous marriages; previous marital history of present spouse; how previous marriages of testator and spouse were terminated; ff testator divorced, whether a property settlement agreement exists. If so, its provisions; provisions of antenuptial agreement, if any.

CHILDREN

• Data on children of testator, with information pertaining to:

• Each child of present marriage, including: name; date of birth;; sex; address.

• Each child of a previous marriage, including: name; date of birth; sex; address.

• Each deceased child, including: name; names and addresses of his or her heirs or next of kin.

• Each spouse of a child, or of a deceased child, and each deceased spouse of a child, including: name; address.

• Each grandchild, including: name; indication of which child of client is his or her parent; date of birth; sex; address.

• Special physical or mental problems of spouse, children or grandchildren.

FAMILY HISTORY

• Family history pertaining to:

• parents of testator including: name; date of birth; address; or fact that parent is deceased.

• Parents of testator's spouse, including: name; date of birth; address; or fact that parent is deceased.

• Brothers and sisters of testator, and their children, including: name; date of birth; sex; address.

• Brothers and sisters of testator's spouse, and their children, including: name; date of birth; sex; address.

OTHER PERSONAL INFORMATION

• Names and addresses of other relatives of testator and spouse whom the will may affect.

• Social security numbers of testator and spouse.

• Occupations of testator and spouse.

• Record of testator's military service.

• Income of testator, from all sources.

• Income, if any, of testator's spouse, from all sources.

• Names and addresses of all persons receiving bequests, if not already listed.

• Names and addresses of client's advisors and associates: securities broker, insurance agent, accountant, business partners.

• Location of safety deposit box, if any.

• Location and provisions of previous wills and codicils, if any.

• Information on testator's estate, including:

• Location, description and value of real property, residential, rental and business.

• Location and amount of cash, including bank deposits, safety deposit boxes, etc.

• Location and amount of savings bank and savings and loan accounts.

• Type and value of securities, including trust deeds, stocks and bonds.

• Personal effects, including jewelry, furs, and art, coin, stamp or other collections.

• Household goods.

• Motor vehicles, including those for personal use and those used in business.

• Insurance and other death and retirement benefits, including:

• Life insurance policies;

• Annuity policies;

• Health and accident policies with death benefits;

• Death benefits, or retirement amounts, payable from place of employment, fraternal organization, etc.;

• Insurance or other death and retirement benefits held by spouse.

• Interests in business, such as sole proprietorship or partnership.

• Other rights, such as royalties from patents or copyrights, mineral rights, etc.

• Expectancies, such as expected inheritances, gifts, etc.

• Estimated value of total estate.

• Information on testator's liabilities, including:

• Debts owed, installment or otherwise, secured or unsecured;

• Liability on trust deeds or mortgages;

• Other contingent liabilities, including pending lawsuits, etc.;

• Outstanding obligations under agreements or court orders:

• Prenuptial, postnuptial, and separation agreements;

• Divorce or separation decrees;

• Inter vivos trusts;

• Contracts to bequeath property.

• Gifts testator has made or plans to make, either outright, or as trusts, and gift tax returns files and their location.

• Kind of will.

• Simple.

• Mutual will.

• Joint will.

• Provisions to be included in will, such as:

• Funeral and burial directions:

• Cremation;

• Donation of body or part to science;

• Type of funeral service;

• Identification of cemetery deed and lot;

• Tombstone and perpetual care trust or directions.

  • Bequests and devises:

    • Marital deduction gifts;

    • Gifts in trust, with trust provisions;

    • Gifts of real property:

      • Residence, or right to reside in home for life;

      • Income or business property;

    • Gifts of personal property:

      • Household furniture;

      • Heirlooms;

      • Jewelry or clothing;

      • Other items of personal property;

  • Gifts of businesses and business interests;

  • Gifts of money;

  • Gift of residue of estate;

  • Gifts to charitable organizations.

• Provisions for guardianship of minor children or incompetent dependents.

• Testamentary trust.

• Persons to be appointed executor or guardian and to serve without bond.

• Successor executors and guardians, including a final bank fiduciary.

• Status of testator's property subject to marital interest.

  • Fee simple.

  • Estate by the entirety.

  • Tenancy in common.

  • Joint tenancy.

• Status of spouse's marital property.

• Previous wills and codicils.

• Antenuptial or postnuptial agreement.

• Documents related to a prior divorce or separation, if any.

• Divorce decree.

  • Settlement agreement or award.

• Insurance.

  • Policies on life of testator.

  • Policies under which testator is beneficiary.

• Real property.

  • Deeds.

  • Mortgages.

  • Leases.

  • Options.

• Personal property.

  • Securities.

  • Certificates of deposit and other term deposits.

  • Chattel mortgages and other documents relating to pledged property.

  • Chattel leases

• Business documents.

  • Employment contract.

  • Stock in closely held corporation or partnership agreement.

  • Buy-sell agreement.

  • Stock options.

  • Pension plan.

  • Profit-sharing plan.

  • Deferred compensation agreement.

  • Social security benefits.

  • Patents.

  • Copyrights.

  • Guaranties and other obligations in connection with business enterprise.

  • Trust agreements under which testator is grantor, trustee or beneficiary.

  • Documents related to previous gifts.

  • Powers of appointment.

  • Documents related to property held jointly.

  • Documents related to contingent benefits, if available.

  • Insurance policies under which testator is beneficiary.

  • Trust indentures under which testator is beneficiary.

  • Wills under which testator is beneficiary.

Well, OK, its not a simple undertaking. As with any prominent decision you make, estate planning should be allotted its share of careful deliberate thinking.

A will, thoughtfully applies your wishes and distributes your estate. Properly handled, it relieves you family from the burden of decision making during a difficult time. This will give you significant piece of mind, because it will reduce the conflicts that arise when when a grieving family must speculate about a decedent's intentions.