When people reach adulthood and begin accumulating assets, oftentimes the thought to creating a will is overlooked. However, the importance of creating a will cannot be stressed enough. A will is a legal document that names people to manage your estate and declares who will acquire your assets after your death. Different types of wills can vary in length from a single page to a large document consisting of many pages. According to Los Angeles Estate Litigation Lawyer, Catanese & Wells, “A good lawyer is needed to handle estate litigation needs and can help you take care of any probate and will contests, beneficiary disputes, removal of trustees, enforcement of trusts and wills, recovery of estate property, accountings and emergency petitions for court orders such as injunctive relief.”
While the process of creating a will may sound simple, the reality of the matter is that there are quite a few types of wills to choose from depending on your lifestyle (assets, beneficiaries, etc.) Some of the more common wills are listed below.
- Simple Will – This document is exactly how it sounds – simple. A simple will contains easy instructions for the distribution of your assets to your beneficiaries.
- Testamentary Trust Will – This will establishes one or more trusts for the distribution of your assets.
- Pourover Will – This type of will can place some of your assets into a previously established trust.
- Holographic Will – This must be written in hand by the person establishing the will with no witnesses. Not all jurisdictions recognize this type of will as a legal document.
- Oral Will – This will is spoken rather than written. Again, not all jurisdictions recognize this type of will as a legal document.
- Joint Will – A joint will establishes in solemn form with affidavits of witnesses present.
Other types of wills include a joint will, self-proved will, notarial will, mystic will, and unsolemn will. In order to determine what type of will is right for you, it’s important to contact a lawyer experienced in estate litigation. Catanese & Wells is a Los Angeles Estate Litigation Lawyer dedicated to assisting clients at a critical time to preserve assets of the estate.