MAKE LOTS OF FRIENDS

Make lots of friends if you plan to die without a last will and testament. When you die without a will, the probate court requires witnesses to testify in court about your relatives. You need a lot of friends because some of your friends might die before you die. You won’t know which friends will survive you. So, you need to have a lot of friends.

Be sure that you also talk to your friends about your family. If you die without a will, your friends will need to testify about when you were married, when you were divorced or when you spouse passed away and the names and dates of birth of all of your biological children. In addition to the testimony from your friends, the court will also require more proof of who is related to you.

The additional evidence the court requires will come from the investigation of an independently appointed attorney. It is the appointed attorney’s job to investigate whether there are more relatives that your friends forgot to mention. The court will approve for this appointed attorney to be paid out of your assets.

You can see how these expenses add up. Be sure to save your money because administration of an estate without a last will is more expensive than administration of an estate with a valid will.

Of course, you can avoid dragging your friends through this time consuming and expensive proceeding if you hire a lawyer to prepare your valid last will and testament. The time for getting your last will is now. Call an attorney today.

Intestacy Equals Laughing heirs

The States of Texas or New Mexico have written a last will and testament for you (depending on where you live). It isn’t called a last will and testament. Instead, it is called “intestacy.”

Those who inherit by intestacy are essentially “laughing heirs.” Play the video below to learn what a laughing heir is.
Video Player

In the video, I said that the brothers were living in a cave in Ireland. That was incorrect. The brothers were living in a cave outside Budapest. I also said in the video that the brothers were inheriting from their aunt. That was incorrect. I recently learned that the brothers inherited from their grandmother.

For more information: 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/hungary/6704685/Brothers-living-in-cave-to-inherit-billions-from-lost-grandmother.html (visited on July 6, 2017)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1235256/Brothers-living-cave-set-inherit-share-grandmothers-4billion-fortune.html (visited on July 6, 2017)

The lesson we should learn is that Texas and New Mexico allows individuals to leave what they have to who they want if they write a written will or living revocable trust. The writing must conform to State law.