Intestacy is the state of dying without a will. In California, if you die without a will, depending on whether your asset is community property or your separate property, California has set up laws which determine who gets you estate. These laws may be substantially different than your wishes. Also if you want to eliminate someone from your estate, the law does not do this without instructions in a will or trust from you.
Quoting Forbes, "in a recent PNC Wealth Management survey, 30% of adults with investable assets of $500,000 or more admitted they didn't have this basic document. A Harris Interactive (nasdaq: HPOL - news - people ) survey of the general population, done for lawyers.com, found 55% had no will."
Avoiding intestacy is very simple. See a lawyer, draft a will and trust, and title your assets properly. Over the last sixteen years, I have heard many excuses why people procrastinate on preparing a will or trust. For the most part, the reason people wait so long to prepare a will or trust is fear of mortality, and believing that if they plan their estate they will die. Also, lack of information about how easy it is to take care of a will and trust is another common reason why people procrastinate in forming a will or trust.
While all people need wills and trusts, there are several catogories of persons whose needs are more urgent than others: Same sex couples, parents of minors, people whose health has changed for the worse recently. If you fit into those categories, go to your calendar, pick a week, find a specialist estate planning attorney and set an appointment.
Mina N. Sirkin is a Family Wealth Lawyer in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Sirkin is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar of California. MSirkin@SirkinLaw.com. http://www.SirkinLaw.com.
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