Cherry Hill NJ Probate & Estate Administration Law Blog

When you create an estate plan, you need to write a will. This document might seem old-fashioned, but it still plays an important role in the estate. Without one, the state will determine who gets your assets based on intestate succession laws, which outline exactly what will happen based on a person's relationship to you.

There are several things that you need to know about writing a will. All of these work together to ensure that the will is deemed valid in court. Here are a few things that you need to remember:

• You must have a sound mind, which means that you understand exactly what the will is going to do to your assets and for the heirs when you pass away.
• You need to be at least 18 years old unless you have joined the military or are married.
• Your will must not be made under duress. You have to voluntarily include the provisions that are listed in the document.
• All of your assets and property that you are distributing must be clearly listed in the will along with instructions about where each item will go.
• Your will must be witnessed by two other people who aren't named in the will. They must watch you sign and date the document so they can attest to it containing your signature if there is ever a question raised.

Probate litigation isn't something that most people will experience in their lifetime. Most wills go through the process without any issue. In fact only around 1 percent have issues, while the remaining 99 percent pass though without any problems.

You can't challenge a will for any random reason, nor can anyone contest it. There are very strict requirements for doing this. You have to be a person with a valid interest in the will, which means that you are actually in the current will, in a previous version of it or would stand to inherit something if there wasn't a will at all. If none of these apply, you can't contest the will.

Parents who have a special needs child often worry about what is going to happen to their child when they aren't there to care for them. Unfortunately, this huge concern doesn't always have an easy answer. One thing that the parents can do is to ensure that their estate plan sets up the best scenario for the child.

Special needs children and adults who receive government assistance, including Medicaid, are participating in needs-based programs. This means that they can lose their benefits if they have too many assets in their name. In most cases, the loss of these benefits would be devastating. Because of the limits set by these programs, the parents can't just leave assets to the child through a will.

Tax considerations are sometimes cited as a reason to have an estate plan in place. While this is certainly a consideration in some instances, it doesn't play a part in others.

Many people don't realize just how important it is to have your estate plan in place when you pass away. Consider these reasons that don't have anything to do with taxes:

• Privacy: Setting up trusts for your heirs means that they don't have to go through the probate process, which can help to keep the terms private
• Protection from creditors: Certain trusts can protect assets from being claimed by creditors, but some won't provide any protection so use caution if this is the purpose
• Guardianship: Parents with minor children can set up plans for those children as part of their estate plan.
• Care for pets: Provisions in the estate plan can ensure that pets are cared for after you pass away
• Plans for incapacity: The living will, advance medical directives and powers of attorney can provide instructions and plans if you become incapacitated
• Control over assets: Your estate plan lets you outline who is going to get what and when they will get it.