http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/index.html LawInfo - Legal Resource Center offers free legal forms and free legal documents that is designed to help consumers and businesses resolve their legal issues http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/what-are-some-of-the-disadvantages-of-using-p.html Preprinted will forms usually do not fulfill the needs of the person writing the will. Also, if part of the form is preprinted, part of it is typed and another part of it is handwritten someone might be able to contest the will claiming part of it had been forged. This is because any change in a will leaves room for doubt as to whether the testator, who is the person writing the will, made the changes or if someone else did. People tend to cross out, delete or add words to these preprinted forms. It can be hard to ascertain who made these changes and why. This problem also puts the will in jeopardy of being contested. Also, these preprinted forms are general forms and do not take into account the specific needs of the estate. Therefore, property may accidentally be left out, inheritors might not be included, and possible tax advantages not taken into account. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/what-are-some-guidelines-in-writing-up-a-will.html The following are some guidelines in writing up a will. The first one is to try to avoid using preprinted forms. The second one is to use the same typewriter and typeface for the whole document. This is because any changes to the document can leave room for a claim that someone other than the testator, who is the person writing the will, wrote the part that has the different typeface. Also, no blank spaces should be left in a will, since that could leave room for someone to write in additional information. The will should be drafted in a clear manner so the testator`s intent is perfectly clear to all that are involved. The language should be simple. All pages of the will should be signed and dated. The will`s witnesses ideally should be younger than the testator and not one of the will`s inheritors. Witnesses should be told that they are witnessing the signing of the will and might be called to testify to that fact. Witnesses, however, are not obligated to read the will or be informed of its contents. Codicils should be used to make minor changes to the will. The full names, addresses and relationships to the testators of all the inheritors should be included in the will. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/what-is-the-qtip-trust.html QTIP trust stands for the qualified terminable interest property trust. It allows certain property to qualify for an estate and gift tax marital deduction even though it ordinarily would not qualify for such tax deductions. One type of QTIP property that can qualify for a marital tax deduction are trusts which provides income to a surviving spouse for life and after the spouse dies the remainder goes to the children. Please contact an attorney if you would like more information about this type of trust. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/what-are-some-of-the-various-types-of-wills-.html There are various types of wills. An ambulatory will is a will that a person can change during that person`s lifetime. A double will is one in which two people join together, each leaving that person`s property and estate to the other person. The surviving person then owns both estates. This type of will is also sometimes called a counter will, joint and mutual will, or reciprocal will. Holographic wills are ones that are entirely handwritten, dated and signed by the person whose will it is. A living will is one that authorizes the withholding or cessation of life­sustaining medical treatments from an individual, who has been too incapacitated due to a life threatening and debilitating illness to make that decision. A qualified attorney can help you decide which type of will is best for you. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/under-what-circumstances-can-an-adopted-child.html Adopted children are considered children of their adopted parents for purposes of inheriting from an estate where there was no will. Adopted children can only inherit from the child`s natural parents` estate when the natural parent left no will, under the following circumstances: (1) The natural parent and adopted child lived together at any time as parent and child or the natural parent was married to or lived with the other natural parent and then died before the adopted child`s birth. (2) The adopted child was adopted by either of the natural parents` spouses or after either of the natural parents had died. For more information as to whether a particular adopted person can inherit from a parent who left no will, please contact an attorney. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/can-children-inherit-from-a-foster-parent-or-.html A child can inherit from a foster parent or stepparent, who died without a will, even though the foster parent or stepparent did not adopt the child if the following criteria are met. (1) The relationship between the child and the stepparent or foster parent commenced when the child was still a minor and continued throughout their lifetimes. (2) The foster parent or stepparent would have adopted the child if there were not a legal barrier preventing the foster parent or stepparent to do so. For more information as to whether a particular child can inherit from a foster parent or stepparent, please contact an attorney. Wills and Trusts FAQs Mon, 04 Jun 2007 21:51:22 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/what-is-a-codicil-.html A codicil is a document that is used to explain, change, add to, or take away from, the existing will. It is not meant to contain the entire will itself, nor is it meant to totally revoke a prior will. The codicil serves to make changes to the existing will without having to rewrite the will entirely. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/when-should-a-will-be-changed-.html A person should change one`s will when one marries, becomes a parent, gets divorced, moves to another state (since one`s will must be probated in the state one lived in at the time of death), if either one`s or one`s beneficiaries` financial state has changed, and/ or if one`s spouse or beneficiary has died. For more information as to whether you should change your will, please contact an attorney. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/what-is-a-simultaneous-death-and-common-disas.html Simultaneous Death and Common Disaster Provision is a clause that is usually included in the wills of husbands and wives. The clause provides that when it is impossible to determine which spouse of a married couple died first (such as when they both died in a car accident) the husband is automatically considered to have died before his wife. Then any beneficiary who is mentioned in both their wills to inherit (such as their children) can inherit the estate. This clause not only helps lessen the amount of estate taxes; it also speeds up the transfer of probate assets and helps resolve the issue of how to dispose of nonprobate assets, such as proceeds from insurance policies. It also helps avoid delays and the extra costs of double administration. Please contact an attorney for more information. Wills and Trusts FAQs Tue, 29 May 2007 21:19:00 GMT http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/Legal-FAQs/Wills-and-Trusts/Federal/are-there-provisions-that-cannot-be-put-in-on.html Generally speaking the courts will allow a provision in a will as long as that provision does not violate public policy. Therefore, it is likely a court will allow one to put a provision in a will that says that a beneficiary will not inherit from the estate if the beneficiary does not marry a Catholic person. This is because the public policy is that people should be allowed to get married and that condition would not prevent a Catholic person from not marrying at all. However, the courts would probably not allow provisions stating a beneficiary could not inherit from the estate unless the beneficiary divorces the beneficiary`s wife or if the beneficiary never marries, since this would be a violation of public policy. Also, a will maker cannot leave the estate directly to a pet. If one wants to leave one`s money to a pet, one must assign a trustee and then instruct the trustee to use the money for the pet`s care. For more information as to whether a certain provision you would like to be included in your will is contestable, please contact an attorney. 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