Aside from the last will, or last will and testament as it was traditionally called, there are some other types of wills used in the field of estate planning. One of these is the living will.
This is an important advance health care directive, and unfortunately the majority of people in the United States are going through life without a living will.
This type of will is not a financial instrument. Living wills are used to state your preferences regarding medical procedures. Your choices as elucidated in the living will would be honored if you were to become incapacitated and unable to make decisions.
Another type of will that actually has no particular legally binding purpose is the ethical will. In spite of the fact that it is not a binding document, it can indeed be a very useful part of your estate plan on an emotional level.
The name hints at the purpose of the document. With an ethical will, you write down your moral and spiritual values, passing along ethical guidelines to succeeding generations.
Another type of will that we would like to touch upon here is used in conjunction with a revocable living trust. Let’s assume that you created a trust to arrange for asset distributions to your heirs after you pass away. It is very likely that you will have some personal property still in your possession when you die that you didn’t convey into the trust. The pour-over will facilitates the conveyance of these personally owned assets into the trust.
It is important to consult with a qualified and experienced estate planning attorney in order to assure that all of the essential elements of your estate plan are considered and prepared.
