Many clients raise the initial question, "Do I really need a Will?  I'm not that old, and I don't own a lot of stuff, so why do I need a Will?"

The answer is that in Georgia, if you die without a Will, your estate will be distributed to your legal heirs, commonly known as your "next of kin."  Lacking a Will, the identity of your heirs is determined by law, not by you.

For example, the law states that a surviving spouse and children are a decedent's heirs-at-law.  However, without a Will, the law generally requires that the estate be split equally amongst the spouse and the children.  A spouse gets no more than a child's share.  Moreover, the children, no matter how young, receive their bequest outright, rather than being held in trust until they are of suitable age and discretion.

For clients who are not legally married and have no children -- or for clients who are part of a non-traditional family unit -- one's legal heir could end up being an unknown second-cousin twice removed, if that person is the closest living blood relative to the decedent.

Instead of relying on the law to identify one's legal heirs, clients may write a Will that identifies their beneficiaries by name.

Writing your Will is beneficial in other ways as well.  For instance, in your Will, you can:

• Direct that property be held in trust for minor children, or disabled beneficiaries, and make decisions about how trust assets may be used;
• Name a trustee to invest and manage the funds in any trust;
• Name a guardian who will raise and care for your children;
• Name an executor to probate your Will;
• Direct that your executor be relieved of having to post a bond or file ancillary paperwork with the court, such as inventories, appraisals or returns, which would otherwise increase the legal costs of probating your Will.