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5 Myths About Wills

January 20, 2015
  1. There is a myth about wills that you don’t need to do a will if you are not rich. Wills are valuable tools that can address what you want done with your remains or even your pets after you die. You can easily designate the person who you want to take you pets, if you have any, when you die. It can also divide your estate up even if you don’t have a big estate. Even if you are not rich, you should still make a will to say what you want to happen with your stuff when you die.
  2. A common misconception is that everything will go to your spouse, even without a will. According to Washington Law, a spouse is guaranteed a portion of the estate, however, the whole estate is subject to intestate succession laws. If someone dies without a will, but they have a spouse and children, their estate does not go directly to their spouse. The spouse will inherit all of the rest of the community property, but only a portion of the separate property. The spouse will receive all of what the court considers community property, however, without a will, the spouse will only receive a share of any separate property that the decedent may have had prior to death. Any additional separate property will go to children, or if there are no children, then it will go to parents or siblings. With a will, you can give gifts to any specific person you want, including someone not related to you. If you don’t have a will, none of your estate can go to someone who you are not related to.
  3. Another myth with regards to wills, is that you only have to mention who you are leaving your estate to. If you wish to exclude a child, you must mention them in order to exclude them. There are certain people who are protected from omission. You cannot completely omit your spouse from your will or the court might rule it to be unfair and overturn your will. You want to spell out who you are leaving a gift or residue to and exactly what you are leaving them.
  4. A common myth is that you can give your property to your loved ones in a will without them having to pay any of your debts. Your debts are a part of your estate, and you will have to deal with your debts before your estate makes its bequests. Death does not eliminate the mortgage on a house, so if you are gifting the house, someone needs to pay the mortgage. Also, when you die, the person settling your estate must try to settle any outstanding debts you had when you died. If your estate is big enough, your estate will have to pay an estate tax before they can distribute the assets. So there are a lot of potential debts that could play a role in your estate after your death.
  5. The last common misconception is that you can just type up a will and email it to your family. There are certain things that must be present in order for a will to be valid. First, you need a signature from the Testator/Testatrix. You also need two witnesses to sign the will verifying the document. The witnesses must see the Testator/Testatrix sign the will (that’s part of the reason that wills require witnesses). Any will either not signed, or not witnessed, is not going to be accepted as a valid will by the court.

If you have questions or concerns about a Will, call us at (360) 685-0145 or use the “Ask an Attorney” link on our website to contact us today!

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