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Why Do You Need A Will?
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Many people are under the mistaken assumption that their estate is "just too small" to require planning. No estate is too small to require planning. In addition, most people underestimate the size of their estate because they never actually make a list of their assets. When you consider that the entire face amount of life insurance policies is usually included in your estate, it is easy to see how the value of your estate can rise very rapidly. Most people actually have a much larger estate than they believe.
Planning is essential no matter what the size of your estate. If you die without a will, distribution of your property is made according to state law, which may only coincidentally coincide with how you would like your property to pass. Some examples of how the State of Ohio distributes your property if you die without a will are listed below:
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Hypothetical Case
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Result
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Married person without children or their descendants.
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All to surviving spouse.
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Married person with children who are also children of the surviving spouse.
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All to surviving spouse
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Married person with one child, which child is not the child of surviving spouse
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Spouse takes first $20,000 plus one-half of balance of estate and child takes other half
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Married person with more than one child when spouse is not the natural or adoptive of the all children
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Spouse takes first $60,000 if spouse is natural or adoptive parent of one, but not all, of the children, or first $20,000 if spouse is natural
or adoptive parent of none of the children plus one-third of the balance of the estate, with remainder to be divided among the children.
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Widow or widower with children or their descendants
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All to the children or their lineal descendants equally.
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Unmarried or widowed person without children or their descendants (parent surviving).
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All to father and mother or survivor.
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Unmarried or widowed person without children or their descendants (no parents surviving).
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All to brothers and sisters divided equally.
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Only general rules governing the most common situations are covered by the foregoing hypothetical cases.
Most married couples with minor children would not choose the statutory distribution scheme set forth above (assets of a deceased parent split between the surviving parent and the children). This results in guardianship accounts having to be established under Court supervision and related fees. Further, access to these guardianship accounts generally requires a request to be formally made to the court and an order authorizing the release of funds. It is absolutely necessary to have a will to avoid such a result when minor children are involved. This is only one example of the many advantages of a will.
There are many other advantages of having a will. You can request the person you want to act as your executor, rather than having a court appointed administrator and related administrator's fees. You can request the person you want to be appointed as the guardian of your minor children, rather than giving the Probate Court sole discretion. If there is no will and no guardian nomination, an unpleasant custody battle could occur between family members as to who will serve as guardians for your children. You can also greatly simplify the sale of any of your property and avoid needless selling expenses by avoiding the burden of obtaining court approval.
In summary, a will gives you the power to control who receives your property, who will administer your property, who will care for your children and saves needless administrative expenses.
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