It can be easy to assume that you do not need a will to plan out your estate. You assume that the people that you leave behind will know what to do with your property. You trust them to avoid arguing about how your assets and money should be divided.
However, you cannot simply trust your friends and relatives to execute your interests after you are gone. They could become compromised by grief or greed. By hiring an experienced probate lawyer in Moline, IL, you can avoid legal pitfalls that can arise if you die without a final will.
Division Among Relatives
When you die without a final will and testament, you open the possibility of your relatives bickering over your estate. Your children, grandchildren and other loved ones could disagree about who should get what assets and money and who should be excluded from inheriting anything.
Once your relatives start arguing about your estate, the state probate court is the only legal entity that can resolve the contention. Your relatives will have to file a claim to your estate and try to convince the judge why they should receive money and assets from you. The judge can choose heirs that you actually wanted to exclude from inheriting anything from you.
Sale of Your Estate
If you die without any heirs, then the state will seize your estate and sell it off piece by piece. The money that the sale generates will be used to pay for your final expenses like medical bills or legal costs to the court. Any money that is left over will be put in the state’s coffers.
You can avoid these legal possibilities by hiring a probate lawyer in Moline, IL, to draft a will for you. You can stipulate the names of your heirs and decide how your estate will be divided.
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