Writing a will is the cornerstone of estate planning, allowing you to decide what happens to your valuable belongings after you’re gone. When properly prepared, a will can reduce the risk of legal challenges, preserve family relationships, and make the process easier for everyone. To maximize the benefits, here are a few elements every will should include.

3 Items That Should Be Included in Your Will

1. The Fiduciaries (Executors, Trustees, and Guardians, Oh My!)

A last will is a set of instructions regarding how to wrap-up your financial life and distribute any remaining assets to those who survive you. The people who will carry out these instructions are held to a fiduciary standard, meaning they will put carrying out these instructions before their personal interests. There are three traditional fiduciary roles in an estate: A) the executor, B) the Trustee, and C) the Guardian of minor children.

A) The Executor.

Choosing an executor is one of the most critical decisions you’ll make since they’ll be responsible for carrying out the instructions in your will. Your executor will have to submit records to the court, settle any outstanding debts from your assets, and distribute the balance to your beneficiaries, so it’s essential to select a responsible person who can fulfill the duties. Because some states place complex limits on who can serve as an executor, consult an estate planning attorney to ensure the person you choose is eligible.

B) The Trustee

An executor’s job is all-encompassing but temporary. Most estates close within a year. If your plan calls for someone to hold assets for the benefit of another (for example, until children or grandchildren reach a certain age), that is the job of the Trustee. The trustee is responsible for investing, managing, and using assets for the benefit of the person named in the will. This person needs to be capable and dependable. Financial savvy is not a requirement for a trustee, as long as the trustee is able to realize when he or she should hire a financial professional to make investing decisions. Finally, a trustee needs to have enough tenacity to follow your instructions, especially if the beneficiary would want to use assets in a way that you would find wasteful.

C) The Guardians for Your Children

Leaving your children without parents is an unpleasant scenario most parents would rather not think about, but it’s necessary to plan for this difficult situation. Your will provides an opportunity to nominate a guardian to care for your children if something happens to you and your spouse. Without a will, the court will typically appoint a close family member, who may not be the person you would have chosen.

2. The Distribution of Assets 

Your will should also include a well thought out list of who should receive what of your property. This section can be as detailed or as broad as you like, but should be able to answer these questions:

1. Does this plan cover all assets, including assets you don’t have today? Listing assets and who gets them is not enough. What happens if their values change over time? What if you sold an asset and bought something different? What if you purchase or inherit an asset that isn’t on the list? Your plan needs to take these problems into account.
2. Does this plan think about what happens 5, 10, or more years after you die? Simple estate plans often fail to consider how complicated life can be. If you have kids from a prior marriage and leave your assets outright to your new spouse, what happens when she dies owning those assets? That could be more than a decade after you die. Will they have the same relationship then that they do now? If you plan to leave assets to your children, will they be financially responsible enough to manage that money at age 18? Your plan needs to address these issues, or it could be a disaster in the making.
3. Does this plan consider what happens if the people you name don’t survive you, or aren’t like they are today? Many a will in the caselaw of estate planning has dealt with unresolved issues of what to do when the named beneficiary of a will doesn’t survive. A newer concern is what happens if the person survives you, but has a disability or a creditor problem. Your plan should consider contingencies for these issues.

3. Execution (Signing) Formalities

Finally, a will should be properly executed. Tennessee is more forgiving than some states in deciding what is a properly executed will; however, the formalities that are classically required to properly create a will exist for a reason. If you’ve seen conflict or drama unfold on TV or in a movie because of how a will was written, you’ve seen a glimpse into what can happen when there is a question about a will. Villainous children convincing parents to cut out another child, step-parents versus children, and more all look to whether a will was properly created. The formalities of will execution come back to the proof that when you wrote your will, you were of sound mind, memory, and judgment, and not under the influence of another. If you want to prevent strife, properly execute your will.

Estate planning is one of the most crucial tasks you can do for your family, but the process can be confusing and overwhelming. With their in-depth understanding of the law and years of experience, Trailhead Estate Planning proudly provides detailed legal advice and personalized service to clients throughout Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. Visit their website for an overview of their services, visit their Facebook for more tips, and call (423) 228-7029 to consult with an experienced attorney.