Why YOU Should Write and File a Will in Whatcom County
I mentioned several weeks ago that I had found a deep-dive subject that has fully captivated me.
It is potentially applicable to all of us, every reader of this blog post, simply because we are "adults."
In my researching and learning the subject, though, it became clear that there was a more pressing and thankfully easier-to-understand subject that should come first......
and that doesn't "potentially" apply to all of us adults......
it ABSOLUTELY applies to every single one of us -- at least those of us who read this blog post.
It can be achieved without spending a single red cent.
It can mean giving your family or "your people" a smooth and enjoyable experience at a challenging time......
rather than a months- or years-long potential quagmire of great expense, quarrel, strangers being in control, and contentious outcomes.
Yet as many as 2/3rds of American adults have thus far said, "Nah."
If that's you in the "Nah" group, don't worry, you've got a lot of very famous companies including:
Abraham Lincoln
Martin Luther King Jr.
Pablo Picasso
Prince
Michael Jackson
And many others
That illustrious list aside, you DO want to ultimately be IN.
With this blog post and the links below you could be IN by the end of this week.
Hey, where there's a will, there's a way, right?
Conveniently, the way is directly below.
Now let's go!
I'm sure you've already guessed
I'm talking about having an actual will -- the legal document that communicates your final wishes related to your assets and dependents.
How (in the world) the simple drafting of a will isn't required by law the way filing your taxes is required, is completely bizarre.
Every person at least 18 years old and of sound mind can (and should) AT LEAST fill in a simple will template, have it witnessed by two people who aren't named in the will, and make its whereabouts known so it can be referenced in the event of his or her passing.
Married? Awesome! Both you and your spouse should EACH make a will.
The decision to take this simple action should have NOTHING to do with:
The size or "net worth" of your estate;
The type or extent of your assets;
The amount of time and effort you think it will take;
Whether you think "everything will just go to my spouse/kids/grandkids/etc. anyway!"
Whether you think "my spouse/kids/grandkids/etc. will just HANDLE everything."
Whether or not you even have dependents;
Whether or not you feel you might live forever;
Whether or not you think you need an attorney;
Whether or not you think writing a will is expensive;
Whether or not you "care" what happens after you're gone;
Whether you want to be "flexible" or completely "rigid" in how your estate is handled.
None of these reasons carry any weight or justify skipping the task of creating (and occasionally updating) this humble but incredibly valuable document.
Without a will, the Washington State Laws of Intestacy take over, and the courts rule on how and to whom your property, money, and kids go, how your remains are handled, and who (sometimes a complete and total stranger) is in charge of that entire disposition.(Do you really think that's what Prince, with an estimated net worth of $156M at the time of his death, would have wanted?)
Q: Wait, don't I need an attorney to create a will?
A: No.
Let me clarify:
I am not an attorney.
***
And a sincere note to my attorney friends who read this blog post:
If it were up to me, every person 18 and over would book some of your time and expertise to guide them through the creation of a will or trust and the rest of the estate planning documents.
We both know that's not going to happen, though.
So my goal with this blog post is to get SOME of our readers off the fence and started down the path.
All that being said, a will is NOT legally required to be drafted by an attorney.
Furthermore, there are countless online templates, low-cost, well-regarded do-it-yourself kits, lists of the best will-writing websites, and software options to help you through the process.
In the decision between "nothing at all" or "an online template, properly filled out and properly witnessed", you are vastly better off with the latter.
Commit right now to doing at least that much!
Please.
However, you should probably consider hiring an attorney if you have any of the following:
The budget and desire for professional help;
A high net worth;
A complicated tax situation;
Multiple real estate holdings and/or other titled properties/assets/businesses;
Out-of-state properties or other assets;
A complicated family situation (i.e. divorces, children with different partners, step-relatives, a non-registered domestic partner);
The desire to delay or stagger a beneficiary's inheritance until a certain date(s);
A desire to substantially disinherit a spouse or family member, or to use a will to exact other types of "revenge";
A concern that your will will be significantly contested on grounds of fraud, undue influence, soundness of mind, or other reasons;
Creative ideas for the disposition of your estate, regardless of its dollar value.
We work with multiple local attorneys who you can interview and/or do an initial Q&A with regarding will creation or probate.
Hit me up if you'd like a referral.
Q: Ready right now?
If you're already convinced and ready to get started, jump right now to a will-writing website and you can immediately get more granular than I will in this blog post.(Bob Marley died in 1981 with an estimated net worth of $11.2M... and no will.)
Q: What does a will even say?
A will is such a powerful document, despite its relative simplicity.In its most basic form, a will is a document that has the following content:
The document title and your full name;
An introduction including your county and state of residence;
A revocation clause that revokes past wills and amendments (called codicils);
A family clause where you list your marital status and name all your kids;
A payment of debt clause;
A clause that explains how you want your remains handled, organs or body donated, etc.
A gifts clause that explains who gets what, i.e. your desired disposition of the various categories of properties;
A statement regarding custodianships if there are young beneficiaries named in the will and you wish part or all of their inheritance to be delayed;
A nomination of fiduciaries, including the executor, a custodian, and possibly a guardian (the latter two if there are minors), and alternatives for each of the above;
A list of the duties and powers of your fiduciaries related to bonds, nonintervention powers, tax elections, etc.;
*NOTE: Don't be scared off. I know some of this seems murky. PLEASE keep baby-stepping forward and the path will continue to emerge through the fog.
You're almost done. The will just needs:
Some general legal document provisions like severability, gender of words, etc.
A signature line and witness affidavit, to ensure you actually signed the will and that non-beneficiaries officially witnessed you signing it.
Again, you don't have to come up with this stuff off the top of your head.
Just use an online template or DIY kit if working directly with an attorney isn't something you're willing to do.(Jimi Hendrix died in 1970 at the age of 27, with no will.)
Q: OK, the will is written. What then?
A: Excellent work!The hard part is done.Next, you're going to:
Print it on archival paper with a laser jet printer;
Make several copies while you're at it, in case a mistake is made while signing;
Call a meeting with two witnesses who aren't related or named as beneficiaries in the will;
Have a notary present too if you want the will to be "self-proving". This means that, when a judge is validating it in the future, the witnesses won't need to be individually contacted;
Make sure the meeting takes place in the county where you wrote the will and ideally where you reside (or change the language on the will to match where it is signed;
Follow the signing steps outlined either by your attorney or in the DIY instructions you are following, exercising a level of care and craftsmanship that this important task warrants;
Make several copies of the will for reference, but understand that the original, wet-signed will is the one the court will eventually need;
Store the will in a secure place and make its whereabouts known by your people.
*One option locally is to submit the will to the Whatcom County Will Repository for a one-time $20 fee.
You can read more about that on this web page.
Technically, you could just store the will in a safe or a file cabinet at home.
Again, make sure your people know where to find it!
Q: What about storing it in a safe deposit box?
A: Ooph! That has its own risks including a complicated chicken-and-egg situation related to your executor, court validation, etc.(Abe Lincoln, an attorney, also the 16th president of the United States, died in 1865 and left no will.)
Q: Can I hand-write my will?
A: Yes.
A hand-written will is called a holographic will.
It goes without saying that unless the penmanship is exceptional and consistent throughout the entire will, it will be much more open to contestation than a type-written will.
Generally, though, all the same minimum standards apply, and there is an extra rule:
A holographic will must be ENTIRELY hand-written.
You can't have a section of it that is type-written or laser jet printed...
it must all be written in your hand.
If you're proactive enough to take the advice of a blog post and create a will, why not take the extra step and make sure it's type-written / laser jet printed.
*The image below is from page 1 of Aretha Franklin's will, found in the cushions of her sofa after her death in 2018.
Despite her estate's estimated value as high as $80M, the illegibility of her will has caused a years-long legal battle between her four sons, creditors, the IRS and others that, as far I can tell from some brief online research, is still not settled as of this writing.
Q: BAM! I'm done, right?
A: If you've followed all the steps above and created your will, had it properly witnessed, stored, and its location shared, then you are definitely AWESOME!!!But you're not necessarily "done".
What I mean is, you should now set a calendar reminder every so often to review and update your will.
Q: What would cause me to update my will?
A: Oh, lots of reasons:
You acquired new real estate or other assets;
You got engaged, got married, got divorced, or began seriously thinking about divorce;
You had a child, or another child;
Your child got married;
Your named executor or beneficiary(ies) died;
You changed how you feel about the aforementioned;
You buy out-of-state or out-of-the-country property;
You can't find your original will;
Family or friends became enemies.
Hey, all of the above happens.
And when major life events occur, it should trigger a little voice in your head to update your will.
If you stored the file on your computer, you won't have to start completely from scratch.
You can write an entirely new will, or amend your current will with a codicil.
I won't go deep on that subject, but obviously there are specific steps to follow, or you should seek the advice of an attorney to help you.
Key take-away, though: Review your will every couple of years at least, and keep it appropriately relevant to your estate, your belongings, your beneficiaries, etc.
(Sonny Bono, the entertainer turned congressman, died in a ski accident at age 62, having left no will.)
A note about your chosen Executor or Executrix
Acting as executor (male) or executrix (female) of an estate is no small matter.The executor is responsible, and is held liable, for not only executing your wishes conveyed in the will, but also for:
Securing and maintaining all assets;
Opening and managing an estate bank account;
Arranging funeral services;
Notifying heirs and beneficiaries;
Following laws involving notice to creditors;
Handling creditor claims;
Filing IRS tax forms;
The entire checklist is nothing short of daunting. Take a peek at an example here.
Fulfilling the executor role can take hundreds and hundreds of hours.
You ABSOLUTELY need to OK it with your nominated executor before you write their name in that section of your will.
Note that the law allows for the nominated executor to decline the position, even if at the time you wrote the will they said they were game.
For that reason, you might nominate a back-up executor, and a back-up to the back-up.
If you find yourself in the executor role, you can do worse than to read through and/or utilize this website to help you navigate the journey.
A tip to make your executor's life easier
If you're a will-writing A-player, then in addition to your will you should include a Letter of Instruction.This is a list that goes wayyy deeper and more specific than the will itself on things such as:
An inventory of all your assets and personal belongings;
Specifics gifts such as leaving that prized electric guitar to Angus your third cousin twice removed;
A list with contact information for all your creditors;
A list of all bank and brokerage accounts;
The location of legal documents, safe deposit boxes and keys, etc.
A list of subscriptions and ongoing services that should be canceled;
And on and on.
Yes, this is why spreadsheets exist.
If you deeply love your family, and your executor, and want to leave them a priceless gift, then spend some time creating and occasionally updating a Letter of Instructions that is kept with your will.
An admission of procrastination
I have a wide range of different interests.
And what comes with that, often, is that I procrastinate.
In my mind, I overblow things and then hide from them because they seem enormous.
Funny enough, though, is that when I eventually do them, they end up being easy.And more often than not, I'm done way quicker than I ever imagined.
My plea to you is this: find a simple, Washington-state compliant will template, and fill in the blanks.
Have it witnessed, file it away safely, and make its whereabouts known.
I have been the recipient of that simple gesture after both my parents died, and it is a greater gift than you think.
Thank you, for letting me cover this potentially delicate topic, and for taking the steps to join the minority of adults who have this important base covered.
