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mentioning major assets and leaving heirs, executors and courts to determine the remaining contents of an estate. Without clear records, the family is faced with the costly task of locating records and documents to establish the extent of the estate. Certain major assets are not typically listed in a will. Life insurance proceeds, pensions, Social Security and other government benef its have distribution plans which are unaffected by wills and, therefore, are usually not mentioned. A clear, up- to-date list of assets will prove invaluable to heirs. Also of value to the family is a record of personal wishes regarding funeral and burial arrangements. You can spare your family the distress of making decisions about such arrangements by making these decisions yourself and by recording your preferences. Probate. Probate is the term used for the legal procedure established by each state which leads to the estate’s final distribution. Many individuals believe that it is not necessary for an estate to be probated if the deceased person left a will. This is not true. Some legal authority must determine its validity, identify the heirs, determine the value of the estate, calculate the taxes to be paid and provide for the proper distribution of assets. Life Insurance. Certain assets are not subject to probate and are not subject to the distribution provi sions of your will. One of these is your life insurance contract. The beneficiaries of your life insurance are determined by the life insurance contract between you and your life insurance company. The proceeds of a life insurance policy, besides replacing the lost income of a wage earner, can, if properly used, provide estate liquid ity. They can be used to pay the estate taxes, unsettled debts, probate costs and other expenses incurred when a person dies. Without the money that life insurance provides, some if not all of the assets of your estate might be sold quickly for ready cash to cover these expenses. Life insurance proceeds can be exempt from federal estate tax if the beneficiary arrangement and ownership of insurance has been properly made. Financial Planning. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a will can cure your estate distribution in all situations for wills are only one part of the planning process. With a sizeable estate, for example, the federal estate taxes can be very expensive. There are ways to minimize the taxes imposed on an estate. Proper plan ning with the assistance of a good and trusted estate financial planner can make all the difference. Women and Wills. Women are even more hesitant than men about drawing up a will. But a woman needs to have a will no matter what her family situation. A common mistake that married women make is thinking that a married woman does not need her own will. But in having her own will, she may take optimal advantage of allowable marital deductions and provide for her children properly. She may also need a will that pro vides for the redistribution of property inherited from her parents. Furthermore, a married woman can coordi nate the provisions of her own will with those of her husband’s to provide for the most beneficial distribution. Reviewing and Changing a Will. When a person makes a will, the intention is to consider what the cur rent situation is and to anticipate what the future will be. We often make a will out of concern for our families and others who are important to us. A will is the surest way of making certain that money, property, and other tang ible items are distributed appropriately when we are gone. Once a will is made, the legal documents are laid aside in a safe place and forgotten, with the thought, "There, that’s done.” There the will sits until some major traumatic event occurs or until the death of the person making the will. But not reviewing the will from time to time may be almost as bad as not having one at all. When a will is written, it is designed with as much flexibility as possible. It would be virtually impossible, however, to prepare a will in 1996 that could be guaran teed to apply to specific circumstances in the year 2015 or 2025. Things change and there are many reasons that make it essential to review the documents to assure they reflect current circumstances. The reasons are usually related to the following categories: people, money, or legal matters. A death, marriage, divorce, births of children or grandchildren, health changes, retirement, changes in competency or other specific bequests for beneficiaries could all have a drastic effect on how the will maker’s final wishes are carried out. The willmaker, among other things, should designate an executor, appoint a guardian for any minor children and, if necessary, create a trust. Increase or decrease in estate size, increases or decreases in designated bequests, retirement, changes in the nature of assets (such as a sale of a business), and other situations could also affect a will. Moving a residence from one state to another and changes in tax laws are but two of the many legal mat ters that make a periodic review of a will a necessity. 24 НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 1996 Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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