The following article, written by Matt Mahoney, was published in the Columbus Jewish News on 6/25/24. While not new information, it does offer reinforcement of the need for everyone to draw up a will. Everyone. Read on for perspectives from folks he interviewed for this piece.
“The passing of a loved one can be an especially difficult time for a number of obvious reasons. dealing with the fallout of a passing, there are times when one will find that the deceased has passed without having created a will to discuss their final wishes, making an already difficult situation all the more troubling. But according to Mitch Adel, a certified elder law attorney at Cooper, Adel, Vu & Associates in Hilliard, and Harlan Louis, a certified specialist in estate planning at Bailey Cavalieri in downtown Columbus, creating a will even when one is in good health can be an excellent idea for a number of reasons.
Primarily, it is essential that one keeps the wishes of the deceased in mind, but without having these wishes expressed in the form of a will, accomplishing such a task can be difficult.
“Primarily, the decedent’s wishes are not considered,” Louis said of situations where a will doesn’t exist. “So, the outcome may be very different than they intended.”
It can be difficult, if not impossible entirely, to deal with a loved one’s final affairs in the manner they would have wanted, Louis added.
“Almost every time I deal with a decedent without a will, the family tells me that the outcome is different than what the decedent would have intended,” he explained further.
Practically speaking, this can also make the probate process – that is, the legal proceedings that occur after one passes – more difficult for the family and legal professionals alike, and thus, more expensive.
This leads one to consider why some hesitate. In some cases, young people in good health might see such efforts as superfluous, while older folks might worry about the time and financial investment that goes into the process, although as Louis sees things, simply confronting one’s own mortality can be a big impediment, he said.
“Many people don’t want to think about death and what happens when they are gone,” Louis noted.
Louis also pointed to potentially difficult decisions regarding a number of topics including “who is an appropriate guardian, what to do above a difficult relationship or circumstance with a loved one, or how to allocate a family business” as additional points of complication.
With all of this in mind, it becomes apparent that the best time to sit down with a legal professional and talk about creating a will – assuming one does not already have one – is as soon as possible. Louis also emphasized that these wills can be changed and modified as time goes on to continue to accommodate one’s final wishes as their financial standing and familial relationships continue to change, but in any case, a will of some sort is better than none at all.
“I tell them that if they don’t have a will, the state of Ohio essentially has one for them – and it could be very different from what they want,” Louis cautioned.
It is also wise for individuals to continue to meet with a legal professional occasionally to modify their final wishes as their circumstances change.
“We see this a lot if someone does not update their will,” Louis explained. “In this instance, their family and/or financial circumstances may have been very different when they last prepared a will. So then a beneficiary may get much more or less than the decedent might have otherwise intended years later. This can also come into play where the persons identified as executors or guardians are no longer appropriate or have fallen out of favor.”
Adel pointed to the additional maneuverability that a will provides when compared to the state probate process as another benefit of creating and maintaining an updated will.
“Why does it matter if you do nothing, no will or other planning, and the state rules take over?” he asked, rhetorically. “Because you may wish to have more control. For instance, if your child is only 18 years old, you may not want them to inherit everything all at once; you may want to spread the distribution out over a longer period until they are mature enough to handle the money themselves. This would not be possible following the state’s rules.”
The key message from this article, as highlighted by Mr. Louis, is that if you don’t have a will when you pass away, the state essentially takes over. If you were to ask ten individuals whether they believe they, or the state they live in, has a better plan for their loved ones, it’s unlikely anyone would choose the state. Therefore, it’s crucial that you, not the state, handle this. And there’s no time like the present. I would be delighted to assist you in creating your will and other legal documents to protect your hard-earned assets, yourself, and your loved ones. Visit my website at www.davidlefton.com or call me directly at 513-399-7526 to schedule our meeting.
Source: Columbus Jewish News 6/25/24 by Matt Mahoney.