The “No-will Will”

A wise old judge wrote an amusing magazine article which very effectively points out why you need a will. Unless your prepare a will which expresses your own personal wishes with respect to your money, other property, valuables and who should care for your dependents when you die, then you are in effect, adopting what the judge calls a “No-will Will.”

FIRST: By failing to have a will of my own choice prepared by my attorney, I make this “No-will Will.”

SECOND: I give two thirds of all my property, both personal and real estate, to my children. My spouse may have only the remaining one-third. If my spouse can’t live on the one third share, that’s no longer my problem. Maybe the children can help with support when they grow up.

THIRD: When our children become age 18 they can do whatever they please with their share of my money and property. No one, including my spouse, shall have the right to question the way our children spend their share.

FOURTH: If my spouse does not survive me, or dies while any of our children are minors, I do not care to nominate the guardian of our children but hope that our relative and friends may mutually agree on someone nice. If they cannot agree, the Probate Court may appoint any guardian it likes, including a stranger.

FIFTH: I do not care to appoint the executor of my estate and hope the Probate Court appoints someone I would approve of. Hopefully, the individual that the court appoints as executor of my estate will not waste or lose too much of my property due to inexperience or dishonesty and something will be left to distribute to my natural heirs.

SIXTH: Any family heirlooms that may be a part of my estate can be sold and converted to cash if my executor wishes. None of my relatives probably wants any of them anyway.

SEVENTH: I expect that although my executor (appointed by the court) is probably ignorant of my business, he or she will nevertheless be able to provide for its continuance or arrange to receive a reasonable price for its sale. So, I therefore, see no need to make any provision as to this matter.

EIGHTH: I do not want to know whether or not there are ways to lower my death taxes. I want as much of my money and property as possible to go to the government instead of my spouse and children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, because I really did not care to go to all the bother of making a personal will, I adopt this, by default, as my “No-will Will.”

__________________(Signature*)

*Without a will, your name will automatically appear on this signature line upon your death.

Reprinted with permission from SRES®.