Last WIll & Testament

If you need a Will, please call our office now to schedule your complimentary consultation at (215) 706-0200.

INTRODUCTION TO WILLS

In Pennsylvania, a Last Will & Testament is an essential estate planning tool, even if you have a trust or other advanced plans. A Will expresses your last wishes, including your instructions for your estate should be distributed and divided, and who will be in charge. A Will provides certainty about your wishes, hopes, fears and values. Without one, your family could be headed for conflict and confusion. With a well-written Will, you can make sure there is clarity and avoid conflict.

WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS TO WRITE A WILL IN PENNSYLVANIA?

A Will can be drafted and executed at any time in Pennsylvania as long as you meet a few basic requirements. These include:

• Being over the age of 18,
• Being of sound mind and body, and
• Without undue influence by another.

WHAT SHOULD MY WILL INCLUDE?

We recommend that you have a qualified estate planning attorney draft your Will. An estate planning attorney Will make the determination, based on a careful analysis of your situation, as to what provisions should be in your Will, or if you need more advanced planning.

When an attorney drafts a Will for you, here are some of the concepts that Will be considered:

• Your family situation: Are you leaving gifts for just your children, or your grandchildren as well? Determining your goals for your family (i.e., leaving your grandkids a gift for life, or effectively giving an inheritance to a spendthrift child, etc.) is crucial to proper planning.
   
• Charities: Are you leaving gifts to charities? Charitable giving is a great way to reduce potential estate and inheritance tax burdens, while also providing for an organization or cause that is important to you.
   
• Minors: Leaving gifts to minors requires setting up proper trust instruments to ensure that those gifts do not fall into the wrong hands. In addition, instructions are provided in the trust that describe when, how much and for what circumstances the minor Will receive the gift.
   
• Blended family: Is there a blended family situation? Second marriages with kids from first marriages can mean more advanced planning is required beyond a Will. Blended families and second marriages (and third!) are more common than ever today.
   
• Executor: Your executor of your Will is the individual who carries out your instructions for distributing your estate upon your death. Your executor is charged with gathering your estate (accounts, real property, etc.), paying required taxes, filing proper probate documents, and distributing your estate to your beneficiaries. You should always choose someone you trust as executor. In addition, if that person cannot serve, you should always have two successor backups just in case.
   
• Tax Planning: There is a state inheritance tax in Pennsylvania, as well as a federal estate tax (except in 2010). Pennsylvania inheritance tax is a modest tax (0% to spouses, 4.5% to kids, 12% to siblings, and 15% to all others). The federal estate tax is in flux right now, and as of 2011, the federal estate tax will be 55% for any assets over approximately $1 million ($2 million for a married couple). Married couples can reduce and prolong federal estate taxes using an A-B trust (also called a credit shelter trust, bypass trust, and marital deduction trust) within the Will. Other strategies for reducing federal estate tax burden include smart charitable planning, using irrevocable life insurance trusts, gifting and intentionally defective grantors trusts.
   
• Testamentary Trust: Often times, individuals find it valuable to have a "testamentary trust" within their will. This is a trust that is established upon your death that provides a more orderly inheritance structure. Instead of distributing an inheritance outright (all at once) to a beneficiary, your trust can provide that a trustee distribute only a portion of the inheritance every year (you set the terms of how, when, for what, etc).
   
• Family Conflict: Every family is imperfect, and conflicts range from minor to major. However, during an estate planning consultations, the attorney needs to know what issues exist within the family, so that proper planning can be accomplished. For instance, if two siblings are not on speaking terms, then perhaps the parents should not appoint either as executor.

ONGOING PLANNING IS KEY

Your Will should be reviewed no less than every three-five years to ensure it still reflects your wishes. A Will only controls your affairs after you die. When your Will is drafted, powers of attorney should also be drafted both for your financial and health care affairs in case you become disabled or incapacitated. You should also have a living will to make your end-of-life health care decisions known.

WHERE TO STORE YOUR WILL

At our firm, we provide you with your original signed Will, as well as a reference copy in a professional binder.  You should always store your original in a fire-proof records safe, not in a safe-deposit box in a bank. The reason to avoid storage in a safe-deposit box is that it is not accessible, particularly to individuals besides yourself.

Our firm also offers a low-cost, secure service called LegalVault that allows us to store your original documents online. Ask us about this service during your initial consultation.

SCHEDULE YOUR INITIAL CONSULTATION TODAY

Our firm is pleased to provide an initial, complimentary consultation to you and your family. Whether you have an existing Will that needs reviewing or do not have a Will, please contact us today to set up your appointment. You can reach us at (215) 706-0200 or by emailing us.