Wills and Estate Planning

A basic will may be all you need.  You’ve heard that if you do nothing else to take care of your legal affairs, you should write a will, and it’s pretty good advice.  If you don’t make a will before your death, state law will determine who gets your property and a judge may decide who will raise your children (and either or both may not be whom you would have chosen).  If all you need is a basic will, you can confidently use a good self-help book or software to make a legally binding will that: leaves your property to the people and organizations you choose, names a guardian to care for your minor children if you cannot, names someone to manage property you leave to minor children (yours or someone else’s), and names your executor, the person with authority to make sure that the terms of your will are carried out.