7 Things You Should Not Include in Your Will: Essential Tips for Protecting Your Estate
Drafting a will ensures your assets are distributed as you wish, but including certain items can cause legal headaches and family disputes. To help you avoid these pitfalls, we’ve identified seven things you should never include in your will—especially if you’re writing it yourself without a lawyer or a will-maker tool like BetterEstate. Understanding these common mistakes can save your loved ones from unnecessary complications.
Key Takeaways
Avoid including non-probate assets, such as life insurance and retirement accounts, in your will since they pass directly to beneficiaries and can create conflicts.
Jointly owned properties and business interests should be managed through separate legal documents to prevent confusion and complications during the estate settlement process.
Personal opinions, conditional gifts, and funeral instructions are best documented separately to avoid legal challenges and ensure clarity in your final wishes.
Before We Begin: Accessing Free Assistance
A will is an important legal document that sets out the allocation of your assets upon your death. Writing down your desires informally can lead to conflicts, grief, and disappointment among relatives. It must adhere strictly to certain formalities so that there is no ambiguity regarding your intentions or the security of your legacy.
If creating a will feels overwhelming, assistance is readily available. You can utilize our free digital estate planning concierge service for a no-cost consultation, where you can ask unlimited questions. This can help clarify what should be included in your will, potentially preventing future conflicts and ensuring a more streamlined legal process.
Non-Probate Assets
Assets that avoid the probate process and transfer directly to designated beneficiaries are known as non-probate assets. This category includes, but is not limited to, life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and some types of bank accounts. Such assets bypass the need for probate court due to pre-established beneficiary designations which render their mention in a will superfluous and can cause complications.
In instances where a will names a different recipient than what’s specified on an asset’s beneficiary designation form, it is the latter that prevails. Conflicts may arise among family members when there are inconsistencies between these documents. These non-probate assets benefit from privacy since they do not go through the public disclosure associated with probate proceedings.
Engaging estate planning attorneys can help ensure your beneficiary designations align with your intentions for asset distribution after you pass away. Properly assigned beneficiaries simplify both estate management during the probate process and improve overall protection of those assets destined for your heirs.
Jointly Owned Property
Real estate that is co-owned under a joint tenancy arrangement will transfer seamlessly to the remaining owner(s) when one passes away, circumventing the probate process. If you mistakenly mention such property in your will, it may cause misunderstandings and conflict because this type of asset goes directly to the surviving co-owner without needing any court intervention.
Including a home owned jointly with someone else in your will could erroneously indicate an intention to distribute it among various beneficiaries. Since legal ownership automatically shifts to the other owner upon death, this misstep can spawn disputes and emotional distress amongst relatives as they navigate through settling your affairs.
By utilizing alternative legal instruments and techniques for estate planning specifically tailored for managing properties held in joint tenancy, you can articulate your intentions unambiguously while avoiding potential legal entanglements involving those left behind.
Business Interests
Incorporating your business interests into your will might invite court interference, which can slow down the handover of assets and pose legal hurdles for those you leave behind. Special planning is essential when dealing with active business to prevent disputes among beneficiaries who may not wish to manage the enterprise.
Strategic planning is vital for succession involving business stakes, taking into account any standing company agreements to circumvent disputes. A buy-sell agreement serves as a mechanism allowing orderly change in ownership, with life insurance often utilized within these pacts to guarantee availability of funds through life insurance proceeds for buying out an owner’s interest posthumously.
Employing trusts as vessels for holding your business investments can streamline asset management and reduce probate intricacies. Trusts Maintain discretion regarding details of business holdings, thus protecting the confidentiality and integrity of your legacy.
Conditional Gifts
Stipulating conditions on inheritances within a will can lead to ambiguity and disparate interpretations, which may impede the fulfillment of your final directives. Such stipulations can pose legal challenges, as conditional bequests might prove unenforceable if they require beneficiaries to perform acts that are either illegal or against moral standards. Courts tend not to validate such provisions.
The intricacies associated with conditional gifts have the potential to complicate estate settlements, occasionally giving rise to extended legal disputes. Employing a trust could serve as a more efficient vehicle for establishing conditional distributions since trustees are better positioned to oversee assets and apply agreed-upon terms compared with reliance solely upon instructions in a will.
By adopting this approach, not only is adherence secured regarding reasonable expectations attached, but also it ensures an organized mechanism is in place for extending financial support toward heirs without unduly burdening any one family member.
Personal Opinions and Private Wishes
It is not recommended to use wills as a platform for airing personal grievances or settling disputes, as they become accessible public records through the probate process. Incorporating elements that address family dynamics and private matters in a will can invite unwanted scrutiny by individuals it wasn’t intended for, which could result in emotional distress and conflicts.
To protect sensitive data like bank account information and passwords from being exposed during probate, these should not be included in your will. To circumvent potential expensive errors while making certain that your ultimate desires are honored, it’s advisable to manage issues of a personal nature and stipulate funeral arrangements within an independent document.
Significant Assets Left Outright to Heirs with Special Needs
Passing on substantial assets directly to beneficiaries with special needs might inadvertently disqualify them from essential government benefits. These heirs may also encounter challenges in handling large sums of money if they don’t have the requisite experience or abilities.
By setting up a Supplemental Needs Trust, you can preserve eligibility for governmental assistance programs while simultaneously providing financial aid to disabled heirs. This type of trust permits funds to be allocated for additional care without jeopardizing any government-provided support, thereby safeguarding a dependable support system for your family members.
Engaging an estate planning attorney who has ample experience will assist you in devising a thorough estate plan tailored specifically for the nuanced requirements of beneficiaries with disabilities, securing both their well-being and your enduring legacy. It’s important that this includes creating vital components of comprehensive estate plans.
Funeral Instructions
It is advisable to record funeral arrangements in a distinct document apart from the will. This ensures that such details are acknowledged prior to the actual funeral. Embedding instructions for one’s funeral within a will could postpone their implementation, as settling an estate often extends past the date of the funeral service.
To prevent your final wishes regarding your funeral from remaining unrecognized until it is too late, they should not be incorporated into your will. Instead, opting for an independent legal document or conveying your desires directly to relatives can guarantee that these wishes are fulfilled promptly and appropriately.
Maintaining separate records for your preferences concerning your funeral helps avoid potential delays and misunderstandings which may ensue if these directives come to light only after the ceremony.
Summary
Proper estate planning is essential to ensure that your final wishes are honored and your loved ones are cared for. By avoiding the inclusion of non-probate assets, jointly owned property, business interests, conditional gifts, personal opinions, and significant assets for heirs with special needs in your will, you can prevent unnecessary complications and legal challenges.
Consulting with experienced estate planning attorneys and utilizing trusts where appropriate can help you create a comprehensive estate plan that protects your estate and preserves your legacy. Take action today to ensure your final wishes are clear and legally sound.
Frequently Asked Questions
What else should you not include in your will?
You should avoid including confidential information, such as bank account numbers, access codes, and passwords, in your will to protect your privacy and security.
Keeping these details separate from your will ensures they remain secure and confidential.
What cannot be gifted in a will?
You cannot gift interests held under a trust in a will, as those assets are owned by the trust, not the individual.
This includes life interests and discretionary trust benefits.
What are non-probate assets, and why shouldn't they be included in a will?
Non-probate assets, like life insurance policies and retirement accounts, pass directly to beneficiaries without going through probate, making their inclusion in a will unnecessary and potentially contentious.
It’s best to keep them separate to honor the designated beneficiaries and avoid disputes.
Why should jointly owned property be excluded from a will?
Jointly owned property should be excluded from a will because it automatically transfers to the surviving owner, avoiding probate and minimizing the risk of confusion or conflict.
This ensures a smoother transition of ownership.
What are the risks of including business interests in a will?
Including business interests in a will can lead to court involvement, causing delays and legal challenges for your heirs.
It is advisable to consider trusts or buy-sell agreements for smoother business succession.