Protecting Your Estate and Your Wishes - Wills

Wills are testaments or documents which individuals can draw to regulate the rights of their heirs or other people over their properties on the event of their deaths. These may also include trusts that can be provided to family members or heirs upon the death of the testators or when the heirs reach a certain age. Meanwhile properties and carrying out of directions of the will are handled by the will executor. He or she is chosen by the maker of the will to carry out different responsibilities connected to the will. These include handling the testators estate planning. Estate planning involves accumulating and disposing of properties for intended beneficiaries.

Wills originated as a Roman law in which the passing or disposing of properties was done in written forms. References to these can be found in the Bible and other historical events. Subsequently, wills became more defined and were recognized by most laws such as Rabbinical, Islamic, Greek, and Roman laws, among many others. Nowadays, wills can be drafted by anyone of legal age with or without a lawyer. There are several requirements when creating wills and these include clearly identifying one’s self as the maker of the will and that he or she is doing this freely and willingly among many others.

Once wills are signed and witnessed, a will executor can be assigned or nominated by the maker of the will to carry out all the details of the will. This is especially true upon the event that the testator is no longer mentally and physically capable of handling his properties. A will executor is responsible for carrying out all the details of the will to the letter and is trusted with the handling of properties and their disposal to the heirs. The execution of wills often happens at the time of death of the testator or when the heir reaches a certain age.

Estate planning is also part of creating wills and part of the responsibilities of executors. This involves the process of accumulating and disposing properties and to maximize the goals of the estate owner. This includes making sure that the properties are well handled, appropriated and passed on to the owner’s intended beneficiaries. These are often done by an executor or a guardian especially if beneficiaries are minors or incapacitated.