What NOT To Include In A Traditional Will

When it comes to creating an Arizona will document, there are a host of things that you can include. Specific arrangements for minor children, issues dealing with property and other major assets and monetary requests are all good inclusions for your traditional will. Medical wishes are best left in a Phoenix living will and current plans for property and other major assets are perfect for a Phoenix living trust. However, while there are a number of things to be sure to include in your will, it also helps to know what not to include as well.

This is, in part, an issue of being practical. The last thing you want is to end up with a document that is too long, too cumbersome and completely unhelpful. The other issue is of a legal nature; some aspects of your Arizona will, no matter to what extent you include them, simply cannot be legally enforced. Consider some of the more common elements of a will that people often include that they should not:

Monetary insurance divisions: It doesn’t matter what you say in your will about who gets what in terms of life insurance monies; it’s all about what the policy says. Hands down, every time, the language of the policy overrides what you have in your Arizona will and nothing you notate in this document will sway the insurance company or change that fact.

Funeral wishes: Here is the thing about the reading and administration of an Arizona will: it takes time. It isn’t a next day kind of thing, but a funeral is. Funerals generally happen long before the will is property administered, which means that including anything about your wishes for a burial, funeral service, etc. will likely be in vain. This is something that you might set up with the funeral home ahead of time, so that whatever wishes you have are followed to the letter. It’s also a good conversation to have with family members and other loved ones.

Stipulations of gifts left for loved ones: For instance, if you have been waiting for a family member to get married, you cannot require them to do so before being able to access a certain gift. These kinds of conditions are not generally enforced by the courts in any state; nor are any gifts or conditions that are illegal in nature.

Leaving something to Fido: You can do this through a trust in more than 40 states, but in a number of states, the courts will not recognize nor enforce anything you leave in your Phoenix will to your pet. Use a trust to do so, just to ensure that your wishes are properly administered.

Arranging for special needs care: If you are caring for a loved one with special needs and want to make arrangements for that care through your Arizona will, you might reconsider. Instead, do so through a special needs trust to ensure that the parameters of the trust are properly administered and followed-through on.

Need Help?

If you are not sure as to what legal document you currently have contact one of our professionals to help you with your estate planning. They will make sure you have all of your grounds covered and have the right legal documents that best suite your wants and needs.

“by Kandice Linwright”