by Tom Olofsson, Attorney at Law, www.MyTrustLawyer.com (773) 905-1193
A will does 5 very important things.
- Cancels your old will.
- Names a personal representative (executor).
- Waives the bond on the personal representative.
- A will can act as a back-up document to a living trust.
- Names a guardian for minor children and for special needs children.
There are several ways to cancel your old will. You can tear it up. You can burn it. You can write “revoked” across the pages or draw large X’s on each page. The most common way is to write a new will. The first paragraph of your will normally revokes all of your former wills.
When your will goes to probate a person is put in-charge of the paperwork. This person is called a personal representative. They may also be called an executor. Most people have someone in-mind for the job. Your will should name a personal representative and a back-up in case your first choice is not available.
A bond is an insurance policy that guard against mismanagement or dishonesty by your personal representative. It helps make sure that assets that end up going through probate will not be stolen or wasted. Since many people name their spouse or a trusted family friend as their personal representative it seems unecessary to require that person to be bonded.
Every living trust should be accompanied by a short will know as a “pour over will.” This legal document is set up to make sure that assets are put into the trust even when the Grantor failed to get the job finished during their lifetime.
The most important job that your will does is to name a guardian for your minor children or for children with special needs. If you do not name a guardian then the court may need to appoint one. Most people tell me that they want to make these choices rather than leaving them up to the Judge in probate or guardianship court