Why YOU need a will:

•Regardless of whether you want to avoid probate, you should have a will.
•A will directs who receives your estate when you die, and it appoints a personal representative, the executor, to make certain your wishes are carried out. If you have minor children, a will enables you to appoint a guardian for their care.

•In conjunction with a Will, Health Care Proxy and Durable Power of Attorney, (and a Living Will/Advance Directive and HIPAA just to be extra cautious), you can create a solid estate plan that will serve to avoid a full probate proceeding and provide for the event of your disability as well.

•Probate is the judicial process by which a will (or, in the case of intestacy, the estate of the decedent) is reviewed by the court, debts of the estate are paid, and final distributions are made to the heirs.

•The probate process is public; anyone can go into the probate court and view your will and all of the related probate filings, which is a reason why many people use pour-over wills in conjunction with living trusts, in order to avoid probate and keep their wishes private.

•Your estate, whether you leave a will or not, consists of all of the assets that were in YOUR NAME ALONE when you died; therefor, if you think that you can avoid probate of your estate by simply refraining from writing a will, you couldn't be more wrong!