By Dale Gribow
Most people do not know that you do not need a lawyer to prepare a will. Yes, that is correct: you can prepare what is called a Holographic Will by writing it out in your own handwriting with nothing else on the paper. You cannot use a letterhead from a business or hotel and you cannot use a date stamp for the date let alone typing anything on it!
Any of the preceding items would make the proposed WILL invalid. A Holographic Will has to be dated and signed as part of the writing and show that it was meant to be a will. In other words that it had TESTAMENTARY INTENT. Your holographic should state “This is My Last Will and Testament, dated July 29, 2015 in Palm Desert California.”
The question is not whether you can prepare a will on your own, but rather, whether you should hire a lawyer to prepare a will for you. The answer is a clear YES. You should not do it yourself. A Will is not that expensive for an attorney to prepare. In addition the consequences of failing to prepare it right are very serious.
For instance say you want to leave $1,000,000 to each of your two boys and you give one son a $1,000,000 bequest and the other a diamond or home worth a million. What happens if the diamond or home is sold before you die? The answer is that the son to whom you left the diamond or home gets nothing because it is no longer in existence. The other son still gets his $1,000,000.
In addition you may need estate planning that goes beyond the need for a will. You may want to put a home in a trust or buy life insurance to pay the estate taxes. Legal advice can be invaluable in those circumstances. A few years ago I had a radio program and I opened each show with the saying “People Don’t Plan to Fail, They Fail to Plan”. Many well educated and famous people whose names you know did not plan ahead.
When U.S. Senator Robert Kerr of Oklahoma died he left an estate valued at $20,000,000. The IRS immediately demanded $9,000,000 from his astonished heirs. However market conditions at the time meant the family would have to sell various stocks and real estate at a substantial loss…just to pay the sudden taxes.
They liquidated what they could but could only raise $3,000,000. Thus they had to borrow the other $6,000,000. In the end most of the estate went to interest payments and the IRS and not to the beloved family and very frustrated heirs. The family went into debt.
If this can happen to the $20,000,000 fortune of a well-educated U.S. Senator (and long standing member of the Senate Finance Committee), then if could happen to anyone. And it does!
In addition, many famous people have died without Estate Planning and their estate was a mess. Walt Disney, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller are a few who did not plan ahead. They failed to plan.
When I have lectured and asked the question “Have you completed an estate plan?” I get answers as follows:
Widow: “I don’t really have an estate; I only have some money in a checking account, some personal jewelry and my dog Bella.”
Domestic Partner: “I don’t really have an estate. Kevin and I have a house in joint tenancy so, when I die, it will bypass Probate and pass directly to Kevin… isn’t that right?”
Grandparent: “I made a Will about 10 years ago before having grandkids. I’m sure it covers everything.”
Well, the good news is that, whoever you are, however old you are and regardless of how little or how much money or other assets you have, YOU DO HAVE AN ESTATE!!! The bad news is that, UNLESS YOU TAKE THE TIME to ensure that both you and what you have is safely monitored; your community estate could be a mess.
What if you should become INCAPACITATED? Do you have an Advanced Health Care Directive? Is it on file at Eisenhower, Desert Regional or JFK Hospital?
In April 2012 I took my mother in law to Eisenhower and was surprised when they asked her if she had her Health Care Directive on File with the hospital. I had a copy in my office but not at the hospital.
We didn’t realize at the time, that it would help if you filed it at the hospital before the need arises. Then you would not have to go home to get it. Eisenhower now has a health care directive on file for our entire family.
Every reader should put this Coachella Valley Weekly down now and do the same….today. A health care directive is VERY INEXPENSIVE in our office because we do not want to see our neighbors in the CV have problems because they did plan ahead and later became terminally ill……….so contact me TODAY at 760- 837-7500 or dale@dalegribowlaw.com.
To be sure your family does not have to face these problems with death, remember not to get behind the wheel and be involved in a fatal auto accident (whether it is your fault or not) or get arrested for a DUI…I don’t need the extra business.
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, CALL A TAXI OR UBER………IT IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME
DALE GRIBOW TOP LAWYER – Palm Springs Life 2011-2016
Perfect AVVO 10.0 Peer Review Rating
“Preeminent” Rating by Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory
Selected for Rue “Best Attorneys of America” (Limited to Top 100 Attorneys per state)
Former member “National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys.
2015 Client Appreciation Award & 2015Martindale Hubbell Client Distinction Award
For more than 30 years Gribow has been committed to protecting client’s civil and criminal constitutional rights. Regardless of whether the matter concerns a Serious Accident, DUI, Business, Real Estate or Estate Planning issue, every case is diligently handled with the utmost of respect and care. Gribow offers clients decades of experience and success, thus making him the attorney of choice for thousands of clients.
