Published By Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc.
Simple wills are an essential service of group legal plans. Legal services benefits will permit a plan member to have that last will drafted, but it is ordinarily the basic, simple will. For example, if you wanted to establish a trust, you would have to have an entirely different document. The six-page simple will is what most people need.
Some think that drawing up a simple will is easy. Their reason is that ordinary distributions and fundamental instructions do not require an attorney to do the work. Besides, there are templates on the Internet that make writing a will make quite easy.
That sounds fine, but there is a lot more to the simple will. This is part of estate planning, and it needs to be done right. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services includes simple wills in the group legal plan benefits. A primary reason to have a professional do the work is to avoid errors.
Simple Mistakes People Make
A person with the best intentions can make severe blunders if they try to write their own will. They do not realize some things should not be in the document, and some must be there.
- You Cannot Leave Money to a Pet. Pets are viewed as property, and what you can do is gift your pet to a trusted friend and allocate money in your simple will to cover the animal’s expenses.
- There Must Be Basic Information in the Text. Your legal name, current address, and signature are the first essentials. The will must also indicate that no one is pressuring you to make distributions and that any other previous will is invalid and the new one supersedes the old.
- Account Beneficiaries and Will Beneficiaries. Retirement accounts and insurance policies have named beneficiaries and alternates. These permit transfers on death and account beneficiaries will take precedent over any beneficiary mentioned in the will. You cannot leave your life insurance policy to your daughter if your nephew happens to be the designated beneficiary.
- Executors and Guardians. These ensure that the will’s instructions are carried out and that minors are taken care of by a responsible person. Whoever you designate as executor or guardian should know the designation in advance and agree to it. Do not take somebody by surprise and have them find out when the will is read.
- Proper Filing. The will needs to be signed in front of witnesses, and the language must be consistent with existing state law.
An attorney can see that common mistakes are not made and that everything is in good order.
The Help Countrywide Gives
Countrywide has attorneys who know how to draft a simple will and make sure that it is compliant with state law. There is a Countrywide attorney in every community with a client organization, and it is easy to set up an appointment. The lawyer listens to whatever group legal plan member wants to have in the will, makes suggestions on what to include, and sees that the document is drafted correctly. Countrywide also sends out reminders every year so the people can examine the will and determine if changes need to be made.
Working with the Client
We have several pre-paid legal services that can be part of a group legal plan. A prospective client may review all our benefit options and determine which ones will be in their plan document. Countrywide will provide additional pre-paid legal services such as a streamlined administration and all member services. The intent is to have a group legal plan benefit all employees may use.
If you are interested in what we can do for your workforce, please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Countrywide Pre-Paid Legal Services provides comprehensive benefits that employees will use and appreciate. We look forward to talking with you about these services.