Need help writing a will

B

B218

New Member
Jurisdiction
Illinois
I need help writing my will. I have a number of things that need to go to different people. Things like:

A collection that goes first to one person to cherry pick, then down a list of people to keep picking.
And numerous digital assets

I also need to put in an anti-violence clause because one party I need to put in my will is all but hostile to another and I want to render the hostile group's part null and void if they do something hostile.

Three parties are each in different states, and I don't know how that works (Maryland, Iowa, Indiana) with an Illinois will.

How do I do this? I know I need to know the legal terms, but I don't know how to look it up.
 
Depends on what your estate is worth and how involved your bequests are.

See if you can get a free consult with an estate attorney to get any idea of what the fees would be.
 
B218 said:
I need help writing my will. I have a number of things that need to go to different people. Things like:

A collection that goes first to one person to cherry pick, then down a list of people to keep picking.
And numerous digital assets

I also need to put in an anti-violence clause because one party I need to put in my will is all but hostile to another and I want to render the hostile group's part null and void if they do something hostile.

Three parties are each in different states, and I don't know how that works (Maryland, Iowa, Indiana) with an Illinois will.

How do I do this? I know I need to know the legal terms, but I don't know how to look it up.
Click to expand...
None of what I write here is legal advice but rather, common sense. By all means, seek the advice of an estate attorney to write your will.

Unless you are as rich as J. Paul Getty, John D. Rockefeller, George Soros, or Elon Musk, you should keep your will as simple and straight forward as possible. It rarely works out the way you think it will after you die when you create a complicated will and what does it matter after you're dead with all your good intentions.

You speak of a collection. A collection of what and with what value? You don't mention any real property, only personal property. If that is the case, then here is my advice.

First, you make all bank and investment accounts TOD (transfer on death) and you name the beneficiaries to each account. That is done through the banking and brokerage institutions, not in your will. Those accounts do not go through probate, and you can easily change the beneficiaries any time before you die based on any changed circumstances.

Then you pick your executor/executrix that you trust and will carry out your wishes to the letter. Your will then places your entire estate (including any residuary estate) in their hands to see that what you intended is carried out and settled. I think of this as a generic will. But it does not go into specifics down to your level of picking through a collection and dealing with a hostile beneficiary.

After your will is signed, you can then record any number of codicils to the will, without the need of an attorney, giving specific instruction to how to distribute your estate. You have to make sure that the codicil is in the correct form for your state and that it is signed and witnessed and recorded. You can change the instruction at any time while you are alive if circumstances change by recording a superseding codicil.
 
welkin said:
None of what I write here is legal advice but rather, common sense. By all means, seek the advice of an estate attorney to write your will.

Unless you are as rich as J. Paul Getty, John D. Rockefeller, George Soros, or Elon Musk, you should keep your will as simple and straight forward as possible. It rarely works out the way you think it will after you die when you create a complicated will and what does it matter after you're dead with all your good intentions.

You speak of a collection. A collection of what and with what value? You don't mention any real property, only personal property. If that is the case, then here is my advice.

First, you make all bank and investment accounts TOD (transfer on death) and you name the beneficiaries to each account. That is done through the banking and brokerage institutions, not in your will. Those accounts do not go through probate, and you can easily change the beneficiaries any time before you die based on any changed circumstances.

Then you pick your executor/executrix that you trust and will carry out your wishes to the letter. Your will then places your entire estate (including any residuary estate) in their hands to see that what you intended is carried out and settled. I think of this as a generic will. But it does not go into specifics down to your level of picking through a collection and dealing with a hostile beneficiary.

After your will is signed, you can then record any number of codicils to the will, without the need of an attorney, giving specific instruction to how to distribute your estate. You have to make sure that the codicil is in the correct form for your state and that it is signed and witnessed and recorded. You can change the instruction at any time while you are alive if circumstances change by recording a superseding codicil.
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I agree with what you have said, except for one (minor) point. There is no requirement for a will (or codicil) to be "recorded," as you stated in the final paragraph.
 
Zigner said:
I agree with what you have said, except for one (minor) point. There is no requirement for a will (or codicil) to be "recorded," as you stated in the final paragraph.
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I agree with you that there are no requirements to record a will or a codicil. However, with a codicil or perhaps several codicils, it is just an insurance policy against any fraudulent behavior since the premise I referred to was not using an attorney to write them.
 
welkin said:
I agree with you that there are no requirements to record a will or a codicil. However, with a codicil or perhaps several codicils, it is just an insurance policy against any fraudulent behavior since the premise I referred to was not using an attorney to write them.
Click to expand...

Generally I would not recommend clients record their wills with the probate court (or whatever court handles probate in that state) prior to death, assuming that their state even allows for that. It's an expense and step that is not required and typically doesn't provide any benefit other than helping the estate locate the will. And if the will becomes public record when recorded before death, it may provide information to others that the testator (person making a will) would not want them to have. Codicils need to be executed to the same requirements as the will itself. That's what the court will look at to determine if the will is good, not whether the will is recorded. Recording it makes no difference when it comes to will challenges, other than providing proof that a will existed, and there are other ways of doing that.

A basic estate plan from an attorney typically is not all that expensive for most people and it provides a better assurance that things will be handled correctly than one written by a testator who has no knowledge of the law of wills and probate. A will might not be the best way to go. It may be better for the person making the estate plan to instead use various ways to pass property outside of probate and just have a pour over will to a simple trust to catch any property that was overlooked. You mentioned one of the ways to pass property outside probate: the use of pay on death (POD) beneficiary designations on financial accounts. I agree those are useful, but that doesn't cover everything that many decedents would have.

While very few people will die with an estate subject to federal estate tax, a lot more will die with estates subject to state death taxes, and getting advice on how to pass your assets with the least tax bite will help ensure as much of your assets go to your intended benficiaries rather than the government. That's one of the things you go to an estate planning attorney for. And not just for the intial will. Codicils can create probate and tax issues too.
 
welkin said:
I agree with you that there are no requirements to record a will or a codicil. However, with a codicil or perhaps several codicils, it is just an insurance policy against any fraudulent behavior since the premise I referred to was not using an attorney to write them.
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I don't believe that Illinois even has a procedure for this. I could be wrong, but I didn't see one.
 
Foamback said:
Many states do not record wills prior to death, or even offer the service. They instead "register" the will, which means to keep it safe.

The difference is nuanced.
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Quite true. The details of each state's law matters as to exactly what is available and how it works when it comes to recording or registering wills. For that reason, I'd highly recommend to anyone who has a will and is contemplating recording/registering it consult an estate planning attorney in their state prior to doing it. In most cases there is simply no benefit to doing so.
 
B218 said:
I also need to put in an anti-violence clause because one party I need to put in my will is all but hostile to another and I want to render the hostile group's part null and void if they do something hostile.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure exactly what you have in mind, but you may want to consider a trust instead of a will as your primary estate planning tool. Also, I'd suggest thinking long and hard about how much you care what your beneficiaries do after you're dead.


B218 said:
Three parties are each in different states, and I don't know how that works (Maryland, Iowa, Indiana) with an Illinois will.
Click to expand...

As long as you and your assets are in Illinois, it doesn't matter in the slightest where your beneficiaries are.

As others have recommended, consult with a local estate planning attorney.
 
B218 said:
A collection that goes first to one person to cherry pick, then down a list of people to keep picking.
And numerous digital assets

I also need to put in an anti-violence clause because one party I need to put in my will is all but hostile to another and I want to render the hostile group's part null and void if they do something hostile.
Click to expand...
What's a "digital asset"?

The A to B to C cherry picking is just going to be a PITA and needless point of contention

The Hostile Acts clause will get the whole thing thrown into court if an attempt at enforcement is made. What is hostile? Even quiet negotiations can be hostile. Depending on the person, some would call even just putting a glass down with a little force as violent.
 
Foamback said:
What's a "digital asset"?
Click to expand...


A digital asset is anything that exists only in digital form and comes with a distinct usage right or distinct permission for use. Data that do not possess those rights are not considered assets.

Digital assets include, but are not limited to: digital documents, audio content, motion pictures, and other relevant digital data currently in circulation or stored on digital appliances...

Digital asset - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Foamback said:
The Hostile Acts clause will get the whole thing thrown into court if an attempt at enforcement is made. What is hostile? Even quiet negotiations can be hostile. Depending on the person, some would call even just putting a glass down with a little force as violent.
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I too have wondered over what was meant by "hostile".

If OP means fisticuffs or stealing, that doesn't belong in the will. It is assumed that people are expected not to break the law.

If OP means attempts to contest the will, then that's a weird way of describing it.

B218 said:
A collection that goes first to one person to cherry pick, then down a list of people to keep picking.
And numerous digital assets
Click to expand...

Usually this is handle by someone who has been named as executor or personal representative. You can discuss with people while you're alive who gets what, and put in specific bequests for those items. Or you can count on whoever settles your estate to find an equitable way of distributing things.

@B218 there is software out there for writing a will. Look into at least one of those, that allege to be valid for Illinois. I do not think that this is a great way to write a will, it will give you better understanding of what is standard. This will help, if you eventually meet with a lawyer.
 
Zigner said:
A digital asset is anything that exists only in digital form and comes with a distinct usage right or distinct permission for use. Data that do not possess those rights are not considered assets.

Digital assets include, but are not limited to: digital documents, audio content, motion pictures, and other relevant digital data currently in circulation or stored on digital appliances...
Click to expand...

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