Beware Of Cheap Wills

Have you seen advertisements or billboards offering wills for $100? It can be tempting to have your will created for such a small amount of money, especially when making a will is not your top priority. It probably won’t occur to you the disaster that will result after your death, how your cheaply constructed will can cause mayhem within your family. If you do not have an experienced estate lawyer oversee the drafting of your will, the simplest of mistakes can cost your children their financial future. One case in England brought this possibility to light when a man’s adoptive brothers fought over who should inherit their parent’s fortune. Mr. and Mrs. Rawlings had made mirror wills in 1999, but unknowingly signed each other’s will. The wills could not be admitted to probate due to this small technicality, and the entire estate was divided equally between the brothers. The fall-out of cheaply prepared wills is more than financial in some cases. If you intend for certain family members to receive items with sentimental value, and your will does not clearly state that, fights can occur between family members who wanted said item. Family feuds happen even when an estate is planned thoroughly and professionally, so it goes without saying that the same will happen when a will is prepared haphazardly. Another problem with poor estate planning is the issue of updating beneficiary designations. It is a common mistake to list beneficiaries that pertain to you at that moment of time, but those people do not stay constants in your life. When your will is reviewed by counsel, it will state the beneficiary information that you entered at the time, and it may not match your wishes at the time of death.