ESTATE PLANNING: Advantages of a Last Will and Testament

No law requires an American to execute a will in order to transfer property at death. Many of us know persons who have died without a will whose estate is distributed without apparent difficulty. So why should anyone go to the trouble and expense of executing a formal will? The answer is a matter of personal choice. If you don't write your own will, the State of Maine will write one for you. The law will determine how your property will be distributed upon your death unless you leave your own instructions in a will.

Dying Without a Will
 

The property of a person who dies domiciled in the State of Maine without a will is distributed under the intestacy rules of the Maine Probate Code. 18-A M.R.S.A. §2-201 et seq. Under the Probate Code, a surviving spouse and all descendants are entitled to certain specific shares of the estate. When a person domiciled in Maine dies without a will and with no surviving spouse, all surviving descendants are entitled to a share of the estate. Those shares may or may not be how you want your property distributed.

Under the Maine Probate Code, relatives of half blood inherit the same as if they were of whole blood and adopted children inherit as if the deceased were a natural parent. (An adoption decree can provide that the adopted child is to inherit not only from his or her adopting parents but also from his or her natural parents.) If at the death of a person domiciled in Maine without a will there is no surviving spouse and no relatives to take the estate under the provisions of the Probate Code, the deceased's estate becomes the property of the State of Maine.

Dying With a Will
 

A properly prepared will ensures that your wishes control the distribution of your property that passes under the will. With a will, you can direct distribution of your real estate, family heirlooms, stocks and bonds, automobiles, guns, farming equipment and any other property that you own. (Life insurance designating another as a beneficiary, retirement accounts designating others as beneficiaries, as well as real estate or bank accounts in joint tenancy, transfer directly, not under a will.)

With a will you can designate the persons you wish to serve as guardians for your minor children. You can identify specific bequests of identified value to go to specific beneficiaries. You can select your own personal representative to administer your estate and to carry out your intentions as you declare them in your will. You can include with your will a memorandum distributing specific personal property to specific persons you have selected to receive that property. With a properly executed will, you can designate how your property is to be distributed. If it should happen that no one in your family and none of your named beneficiaries survives you, you can use your will to direct your estate to a charity of your desire.
 

Holographic Wills
 

In Maine it is possible for a person to hand write a will and execute it properly in such a way that it is a valid and enforceable legal document. It also is possible to obtain from various publishers standard forms for drafting one's own will. You may be able to find at your local computer software supplier programs that can be used to create your own will. You also can hire an attorney to draft a will for you. An attorney can be sure not only that your will is complete and enforceable but also that it is appropriate for your particular circumstances.