Will Power Answer 5 – Choice!

Do you want to leave anything to a non-family member, like a caregiver or a charity?
 
Without a will, as we said in Answer 1, your property goes to a specific family member or members.  Everything goes to your children if you have children.  If you do not have children, then it goes to the next of kin as designated by law.  There are no options for anyone to deviate from those rules. 
 
As stated previously, your will can be used to itemize gifts to your children to avoid fighting.  You can designate that one gets your wedding ring and the other gets the silverware.  You can also generally leave disproportionate gifts to your children – like 70 percent of your estate to one and 30 percent to the other.  That may be a rare case, but sometimes children are in different positions either because of relative wealth, age or even how close they are with a parent. 
 
Beyond this, however, is the fact that in your will you can also generally bequest property to anyone.  Even if you have children, you may want to leave a certain piece of jewelry to your sister or a set of golf clubs to your nephew.  You may want to leave some money to a charity or leave some real estate to your church.  You cannot do these things without a will.

Want to read more of our blogs on this topic?  Click here! 

---

* The content of this page is for informational purposes only.  It does not serve as legal advice and should not be taken as such.  There is nothing published on this website that is intended to create an attorney-client relationship.  If you have a legal issue, you should consult with a licensed attorney directly.