The Top Five Things Your Family Will Argue About If You Don't Have A Will

Written by Marcus Kroll

1 - Who will be the administrator of your estate?

Without a Will in place, your family can argue over who should be appointed by the Court to manage your final affairs, pay your debts, and distribute your assets.  In the Estate of Aretha Franklin, she never hired an attorney to prepare a Will for her.  Her family argued for five years over the validity of various handwritten documents as well as who should be in charge of her vast estate.

2 - Who gets what items?

This is what most families fight about - without a Will in place, there is no mechanism to dispose of your treasured personal possessions like jewelry, photographs (physical and digital), social media accounts, family heirlooms, and even your pets.  In the Estate of Prince Rogers Nelson, his family battled for over six and a half years for control of his music catalogue, royalties, trademarks, copyrights, and control of his legacy.

3 - Who determines what happens to your body?

Without a Will in place and a nominated Executor, there are no instructions for the disposition of your remains and your funeral.  In the Estate of Casey Kasem, his wife and adult children spent millions of dollars battling over autopsy requests and where to bury his body.

4 - How to Address Taxes

Without a Will in place, and more importantly, proper tax planning, you could wind up paying a large portion of your estate to the government.  For example, many people will accumulate large pre-tax retirement accounts (401k, 403b, IRA) without addressing the impending income tax consequence on the next generation.  Between paying up to half of the retirement account as income taxes, losing a step-up in basis on real estate, or paying estate taxes, it is important that a lawyer supervise the drafting of an estate plan.  In the Estate of James Gandolfini, he failed to address his tax situation and wound up paying $30 million of his $70 million estate to the IRS in estate tax.

5 - Who Will Raise Your Children?

Without a Will in place, there is no guidance to the Courts or your family regarding your minor children.  In addition, the Court will take control of the estate's assets absent proper legal planning for minor children.  In The Estate of Heath Ledger, he never addressed his daughter Matilda.  Fortunately, his family did the right thing but many families spend huge sums of money arguing over custody, trusts, and battling with the Courts to get money back from them so that it can benefit surviving children.