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3 things you might not want to include in your will

On Behalf of | Mar 17, 2023 | Estate Planning |

A will is a legal document that speaks for you when you are no longer around to speak for yourself. With a written will, you can have peace of mind knowing that your assets will go to the people or causes you love and care about. But can you put anything in your will?

To ensure that your will serves its intended purpose, you not only need to know how to draft and sign it per New Jersey’s will laws. You also need to know the things you can (and cannot) include in your will.

Here are provisions you may not want to include in your will.

Funeral arrangements

It is not uncommon to want to communicate how you’d love for your remains to be interred. However, a will is not the best place to communicate this wish. This is because your will may not be available to the executor until after your funeral. Instead of your will, it is best to communicate this wish in a separate document that your family will readily access as soon as you pass on.

The desire to donate your organs

A desire to donate an organ is pretty much similar to funeral arrangement desires since they are both time-sensitive subjects. Just like your funeral wishes, having this information in your will may not be helpful. Instead, you may consider having your organ donation information in the same document as your funeral wishes.

Your reasons for distributing your assets in a particular manner

You may want to explain the reasons for your decisions. However, you should never do this in the will since it does not belong to the court. You are better off explaining why you distributed your assets the way you did in personal notes to your beneficiaries.

Getting it right

Ensuring that your legacy and loved ones are protected when you pass on should be your top priority. And knowing what you can (and cannot) include in your will can go a long way in ensuring that the document will stand the test of probate.


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