The process of estate planning has many aspects. One one level you may plan the transfer of your wealth to your loved ones free of creditor claims and tax liabilities. But on another level, estate planning also involves planning for a time when you are no longer around to provide guidance or support to your loved ones. For many it can be difficult to cope with the fact that you will no longer be able to fulfill your long held sense of responsibility to your loved ones.
An ethical will is an effective way to address this dilemma. The tradition actually dates back to early biblical times when ethical wills were passed down orally, but they are now composed in writing. The writing of ethical wills has been firmly embedded in the Judaic tradition for generations, but the practice is now widely accepted throughout the estate planning community.
In an ethical will you may share your moral and spiritual values. It is a method to convey the lessons you learned in life to your loved ones. An ethical will can be looked at as a heartfelt final letter to your family. You let your loved ones know how you feel about them, share personally acquired wisdom, and get things off your chest if you find that to be necessary. In short, it is a way to transmit to future generations what makes you and your family who they are. People usually find the composition of an ethical a defining time that is as beneficial to the author as the content is to the readers.

When creating your Last Will and Testament, it is important to follow all of the necessary estate planning steps to ensure that it will be valid and legally binding.

List Your Assets

The first step of estate planning is to list all of your assets. These are the items you intend to leave to your beneficiaries. There are some items, such as Payable on Death accounts or life insurance, that will generally not but subject to the terms of your Will. For assets that you do not want to subject to the time and cost of public probate proceedings required by a Will speak to a qualified estate planning attorney about possible alternatives, i.e. a living trust.

Name Your Beneficiaries

Next, you must name your beneficiaries. If you intend to leave a spouse out of your Will, you must understand what inheritance rights the spouse may have and if the spouse could claim some of your estate despite your choice. When naming a beneficiary you should also name a back-up beneficiary in case that beneficiary predeceases you or dies at the same time.

Name an Executor

Naming an executor or executrix, also known as a Personal Representative, is an essential part of the Will. This is the person who will follow the instructions in your Will and will settle your estate. You should also list the authority that you wish to grant the Personal Representative when administering your estate. It is best to advise your Personal Representative in advance of your decision to appoint him or her.

Choose a Guardian

If your children are minors, you can use your Will to appoint a guardian. This person will care for the children and manage the estate for their benefit. In your Will you can also appoint a separate person to manage your children’s inheritance until they are old enough to receive it.

Legally Sign

Perhaps the most important part of creating your Will is making sure it is properly executed. Each state will have laws that govern the proper execution of your Will to ensure that it will be valid and binding. To ensure your Will is valid and binding it is best to work with a qualified estate planning attorney who can assist to comply with your state's execution requirements.

Safe Storage

Once your Will is completed store it in a safe deposit box, home safe, or other secure location and advise your Personal Representative of the location.

Estate Planning

The estate planning attorneys from Anderson, Dorn & Rader are here to make sure sure your Will and Testament are valid. Get in touch with the experts by calling (775)823-9455 or fill out a contact form below.

Contact Estate Planning Attorneys

When a Last Will and Testament or Revocable Living Trust is created for inheritance estate planning purposes, the testator or trust maker will name beneficiaries to receive his or her property. If any beneficiary receives less than her or she expected or is omitted does that person have a claim to receive a portion of the estate? The answer depends upon state law and the relationship of the beneficiary to the decedent.

Current Spouse

In community property states, a spouse may have a right to half of the marital estate upon the death of the other spouse. If the decedent chooses to completely leave his or her spouse out of the Will or to leave the spouse a portion smaller than half of the estate, the surviving spouse may have a claim against the estate.

In states where community property rules do not exist, a spouse may still have a right to a certain percentage of the estate. This percentage may depend upon how long the couple has been married and what assets were brought into the marriage versus purchased during it. If you are a spouse who feels you may have lost some of your estate to a deceased spouse's estate you may want to seek the assistance of a qualified estate planning and probate attorney.

Former Spouse

A former spouse does not automatically have the right to inherit property from their deceased former spouse's estate. If, however, a couple is separated but not yet divorced, the surviving spouse may have a claim against the marital estate.

Children

If your parent intentionally excluded you from his or her Will, you may not have the right to inherit unless special circumstances exist. If you were omitted from your parent's estate you may want to speak to a qualified inheritance estate planning attorney to discuss your rights. For example, if a child is born after a Will is created and the parent never revises that Will, the child may be able to receive a share of the estate.

On the other hand, if a parent explicitly states that a certain child is to receive nothing from the estate, that child may have little or no grounds to assert a claim or interest in the estate.

Inheritance Estate Planning

It is crucial to keep your Will, Testament, or Revocable Living Trust up to date. Work with an inheritance estate planning attorney to get started or to simply revise your plans.

Begin Inheritance Estate Planning

When you write a Nevada will, it must be witnessed by at least two people. If you are writing your own will (and you shouldn’t be), who would you want to be involved more than family members to act as those witnesses?

Nevada Will Witness Restrictions

Before you have your loved ones certify your will, keep in mind that this may create problems you had not thought about. By law, anyone who stands to inherit under your will must not be a witness. This includes not just your spouse and children but also any siblings, aunts, uncles and even friends.

Here’s why:

A witness is attesting to your state of mind when the Will was made. They are telling the courts that, to their knowledge, you weren’t be coerced, you weren’t under duress and you were thinking clearly when you decided how your assets would be distributed.

Let’s say that someone decides to contest that will after you’re gone. If Uncle Bob gets the greatest share of the estate and is also a witness to the will, who’s to say he didn’t influence your decision regarding how the assets should be distributed? Or someone could claim that Uncle Bob found information that could be embarrassing and threatened you with it.

Who Can Be a Will Witness?

To remedy this, you should always choose witnesses that have absolutely no interest in your will. This means that not only should Uncle Bob not be a witness but Uncle Bob’s girlfriend shouldn’t play the part either. The more neutral the witnesses, the better chance you’ll have of the courts enforcing your will in a contest.

Reno Estate Planning

To learn more about writing a will and why you should be cautious about who you choose to witness your will, get in touch with an estate lawyer. The estate planning lawyers at Anderson, Dorn & Rader are here to guide you but not persuade you in any which way. Consider choosing your lawyer as a witness to your will!

CHOOSE A WITNESS FOR YOUR WILL

A no contest clause, also called an in terrorem clause, is essentially a statement in your will or revocable living trust that threatens to disinherit an heir if he or she formally challenges the document.

This is designed to discourage beneficiaries from disputing the will or trust in court in the hopes of getting a bigger inheritance. Of course, the power behind the clause will depend upon how much the beneficiary stands to lose versus how much they could potentially gain.

Nevada's No Contest Clause

In 2009, the State of Nevada beefed up its no contest clause to also include an exception for challenges brought in good faith and with probable cause. Under the new law, the statute instructs the court to enforce a no-contest clause unless the person challenging the document can show that “…a reasonable person, properly informed and advised, to conclude that there was a substantial likelihood that the will was invalid.”

A no-contest clause should be included in any will or trust. Just remember that probable cause relies on the “reasonable person” test. So if you’re intending to disinherit a family member or drastically reduce the amount he or she is to inherit, you should be very specific about your intentions and your reasoning in your legal documents.
This tells the court that it wasn’t simply an oversight and that your document reflects your true intentions.

Hire an Estate Planning Attorney

To learn more about contesting a will or a trust, give the estate planning attorneys at Anderson, Dorn & Rader a call at (775) 823-9455.

Most people have heard of a will and many assume that it's the basic estate planning document. Others assume it's the only document necessary to settle an estate. The will is a necessary document. While passing on assets typically requires a probate will, your family will at least have a legal document establishing the manner in which assets will pass to named beneficiaries.

Assets Not Covered in a Will

While a will can take care of many things, there are some assets not covered by this legal document. As a general rule, wills only cover assets that you own, such as your belongings and assets that are titled in your name. Wills do not govern other legally binding documents that have the ability to “stand on their own” without the need for a Will.

One example of this type of asset is life insurance. A life insurance policy is a legally binding document that names the beneficiary and the amount to be paid. Upon your death, the terms of this document will be executed without reference to a will, so it is considered separate and will not be subject to the probate process. The same is true of retirement plans.

There are also other assets that may have TOD (‘transfer on death’) and POD (‘paid on death’) attached to them, such as bank accounts and savings bonds. This means that upon death, these assets will be transferred or paid to your nominated beneficiaries, regardless of what your will might say.

Any assets jointly owned will also pass automatically to the other person upon your death. The will does not direct this. Now, even though the above assets are not covered by a will, it’s still advisable to have one.

Contesting a Will

A will can cover a variety of property, ensuring that your belongings and assets are distributed the way you want. It can also establish a trust for minor or disabled dependents, leave money to charity, and handle a number of other issues upon your death.

Knowing what is and what is not covered by your will is the first step in planning your estate. Because each person is different, it’s best to have a good estate planning attorney guiding you through the process. The estate planning lawyers at Anderson, Dorn & Rader, Ltd. can help!

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