Grand Rapids & Kalamazoo Estate Planning Lawyers

What to Include in Will

While making a will is one of the most important things you can do to protect your assets and provide peace of mind for yourself and your loved ones, it is just as important to make sure you know what to include in your will.

Depending on the structure of your family, the types of assets you own and your goals, what to include in a will could differ greatly. At Willis Law, we have extensive experience creating wills for our clients in West Michigan and beyond.

Experienced Attorneys Drafting Wills

The following are some of the things you can include in a will:

• A description of your estate, including such things as real estate, financial accounts, insurance policies and family heirlooms.
• The people who will receive specific assets in your estate.
• Trusts that you wish to establish for your children.
• A guardian you wish to appoint for your child.
• Gifts you wish made to charity.
• The person you wish to serve as the executor of your estate, who carries out the instructions in your will.
• People whom you choose to disinherit, who might otherwise expect to receive assets from your estate. You cannot disinherit your spouse, unless he or she has agreed to be disinherited in a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. In the absence of such an agreement, Michigan law determines the amount of your estate that your spouse would automatically inherit.

Do you really need an attorney? While there are templates and computer software that you can use to write your will without the assistance of a lawyer, these methods have many pitfalls that could be missed until your estate is being settled and it is too late to make changes. Hiring a wills lawyer to guide you through the process costs a little more, but the peace of mind you gain from having help from an experienced professional is priceless.

Contact us today to schedule a free initial consultation. We have office locations in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids and Paw Paw for your convenience.