How to Draft a Will

From LoveToKnow Dying

Many people are interested in knowing how to draft a Will. The true legal name for this document is a Last Will and Testament and this document should be included in a bundle of documents that are called A Living Will.

The Living Will

A Living Will is a document that is prepared while people are still alive and of sound mind that gives specific instructions on the following issues including how to draft a Will:

The person who should handle their legal affairs, called the Executor
How to handle health care including hospice services
How to manage businesses and investments
How to manage real and personal property
How and to whom to make bequests
How to conduct final arrangements

The Living Will holds a bundle of documents including:

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
- This document enables the Executor to make decisions concerning health care on behalf of the Testator
A Last Will and Testament
- This document appoints the Executor and outlines what is to be done with real and personal property and bequests to others
A legal Consent for Cremation
A Request for Euthanasia (Required in the States of Oregon and Washington)
Trust documents that protect the business and investments of the Testator

How to Draft a Will

Some people do not know how to draft a Will, have no businesses or investments to manage and do not anticipate issues regarding health care but simply want to draft a Last Will and Testament, otherwise commonly known as a Will.

In order to draft a Living Will or just the document the Last Will and Testament there are few requirements.

The Testator must be over the age of 18 and of sound mind
The last Will, with the exception of a few states that allow holographic or handwritten Wills, must be typed
It must be signed by the Testator
There must be a date
It must be witnessed by one or two individuals not named in the Will
In some states the signing must be done before a Notary Public

Trusts

For Testators that do have significant holdings in business and investments there are a number of types of Trust documents that can be created with a Living Will. For example, if an individual owned an apartment building, it could be placed into a trust, where the monies from the rental is controlled by a Trust document. The document would instruct on how the monies would be distributed to the improvements of the building, paid to the managers of the building and how much should go to the Executor for managing the affairs of the Trust.

For inheritances to young adults, there are “Sprinkling Trusts” that spread out allotments of monies to the beneficiaries every so many years as dictated by the Testator.

For long-term investments such as IRA’s and 501K plans, these also may be managed by Trusts and passed down to other individuals by order of the Trust documents.

Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care empowers the appointed Executor of the Will the legal right to instruct health care facilities, physicians and other related medical personal to the wishes of the Testator and to take legal action if the instructions of the document are not followed exactly.

Consent for Cremation

Some individuals choose cremation over the option of traditional burial or being memorialized, there are certain requirements that are associated with this issue and are further explained in the previous links.

Request for Euthanasia

Currently in the states of Oregon and Washington, any individual who may choose euthanasia as opposed to living life under the circumstances of a painful death or incurable disease such as terminal cancer may choose the option of euthanasia. This document should be signed and witnessed prior to the individual finding that their health is in a state that may require such a decision because it is thought that some individuals may not be of sound mind to make such a significant decision after learning of a traumatic disease or disorder.

Forms for Drafting a Will

Because each state has different requirements for how a Will should be drafted, most people find it easier to purchase Last Will and Testament documents online that have been created specifically for the state that they reside in. This is much cheaper than hiring an Attorney or a Legal Document Preparer to do the drafting of a Will for you. Some of the most popular websites for legal documents are: