SIMPLE WILLFORM, Version 1.23, COPYRIGHT (C),1987, by OLD LAWYERS TRICKS ,P.O. Box 230975, Anchorage, Alaska, 99523-0975, (Compuserve User I.D. 76545,2427; GEnie User # XTH17619). This is a Plain Text Shareware legal form. It has been written by attorneys and is intended to work with any personal computer. Just load it into your word processor and follow the instructions below. If you use it to create your own will then you should send $5.00 to the address above. (It should save you at least $50.00 to $100.00.) If you use it to create a multiple use law office form then you should send us $20.00. Feel free to duplicate the form and distribute it wherever you want as long as this announcement accompanies it. THIS FORM IS NOT INTENDED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR CONSULTING WITH AN ATTORNEY! THE WAY TO SAVE MONEY ON LAWYERS FEES IS NOT TO AVOID THEM BUT TO SEE THEM AT THE RIGHT TIME, BEFORE THE DAMAGE IS ALREADY DONE, AND ALSO TO DO AS MUCH OF THE WORK AS YOU CAN BY YOURSELF. For our advice on how to select and use lawyers,and our catalog of additional Shareware legal forms, send $2.00 to the address above. It is important to be aware of how to use lawyers most efficiently. We have not included all of that information here because it is bulky and we want to save computer file space to keep on line costs down. Specifically as to your will, however, we strongly advise that you take your final will draft to a local lawyer for a short consultation, to be sure it meets all the requirements of your local jurisdiction and your own special needs. Such a consultation should be cheap (many attorneys offer special reduced fees for first consultations -- be sure to ask) and will be well worth the cost. This will is designed to be valid in all 50 states, but only a consultation with a local attorney will guarantee that it is. (Be especially careful in Louisiana, which has some pretty weird laws.) WHY A SIMPLE WILL? The primary reasons for a simple will are to make sure that your estate goes to who you want it go to and that it doesn't get complicated in probate, which could result in substantial portions of it going into the pockets of people other than your intended heirs. If you are a rich recluse who wants to leave everything to newly created foundations named after your pets (or indeed anyone with an estate worth over $400,000), you should forget about a simple will and immediately go see an attorney who is an expert in estate planning. A simple will is intended to either avoid probate altogether or at least keep your estate easy to administer, to make sure that it goes where you want it to go with a minimum of expense. An important part of the process is for you yourself to keep your desires simple. As a general rule the more complicated your desires are the more complicated will be the will and the greater the probability of expensive complications in probate. Thus the typical simple will leaves everything to your spouse, if you have one, and to your children (and their children) thereafter, or to one or two individual heirs if you have neither a spouse nor children. Husbands and wives should each do an individual will. The most extensive and complicated provisions of our will form concern the granting of discretion to the fiduciaries of the estate (also called personal representatives, administrators, executors, and/or guardians), to make sure they can act freely to settle the affairs of the estate or otherwise carry out the intent of the will with the minimum of probate formalities. Such formalities can be extensive and vary considerably from state to state. The Simple Will form should be self explanatory. The blank lines are to fill in pertinent information. The information in capital letters in parentheses, (LIKE THIS), is for information only and should be stricken out before printing. Also strike out those sections of the will which don't apply and renumber accordingly. We have put in a character return at the end of each line for telecommunication purposes. Sorry about that, but just take them out and you should be able to edit the form however you want on your own Word Processor. Let us know if you have any problems so we can fix them for later versions. Be sure to make a back up copy of the whole file before editing, to go back to in case you make any mistakes and to then give to your friends after you are done. ********************************************************* ********************************************************** (WILL FORM STARTS HERE / THE HEADINGS ARE USUALLY CENTERED / WILLS ARE TRADITIONALLY DONE ON LEGAL SIZED PAPER / 8 1/2 " X 13" / BUT ANY SIZE WILL DO) Last Will and Testament of ______________________ ( PUT IN YOUR FULL NAME, INCLUDING MIDDLE, UNLESS YOU TRULY HATE IT) I, _____________________, now domiciled at (RESIDENCE STREET ADDRESS / STATE / ZIP CODE) ___________________________,presently at the age of ___________ years( DON'T LIE / IF YOU TRULY REFUSE TO ADMIT YOUR AGE THEN SIMPLY ELIMINATE THIS CLAUSE ALTOGETHER, BUT IT IS BETTER TO LEAVE IT IN), do make, publish and declare this to be my Will, and I hereby revoke any and all Wills and Codicils previously made by me. ARTICLE I. HEIRS AND BENEFICIARIES I declare at the date of this Will that I am married to ______________, that I have ____ children, namely, ________________________________________, born ____________, ________________________________________, born ____________, ______________________________________, born ____________ and _________________________, born __________________ and I have no deceased child or children with descendants now living. (IF YOU DO THEN LIST THEM ALSO.) ARTICLE II. FIDUCIARIES (NORMALLY YOU WILL WANT TO NAME YOUR PRIMARY BENEFICIARY AS YOUR PRIMARY FIDUCIARY ALSO, AND SO ON, UNLESS THERE IS A VERY GOOD REASON NOT TO DO SO. YOU ARE GIVING YOUR FIDUCIARIES TREMENDOUS POWER, SO BE SURE YOU TRUST THEM ABSOLUTELY. IF YOU DON'T TRUST THEM DON'T DO A SIMPLE WILL - GO SEE A LAWYER INSTEAD! ALSO IT IS A GOOD IDEA IF POSSIBLE TO HAVE YOUR HEIRS, FIDUCIARIES AND GUARDIANS MATCH UP AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. BE SURE TO HAVE AT LEAST ONE ALTERNATE FOR EACH FIDUCIARY NAMED.) I direct that no fiduciary serving hereunto shall be required to give bond or security in any jurisdiction. I appoint my ( RELATIONSHIP / I.E. WIFE)_______________, (NAME) ____________________ as personal representative of this Will. If she/he shall fail to qualify or cease to serve as personal representative, I appoint my ___________________, _____________________, as my personal representative. If she/he shall fail to qualify or cease to serve as personal representative, I appoint my __________________, _____________________________ as my personal representative. Throughout this Will, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, "fiduciary" and "personal representative" shall refer to all personal representatives at any time serving hereunto. ARTICLE III. DEBTS AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES I direct my personal representative to pay my debts and funeral expenses, the expenses of my last illness, and the expenses of my last illness, and the expenses of administering my estate, provided, however, that my personal representative, in his or her discretion, may elect not to pay any debt or expense secured by mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, lien or other encumbrance on property subject to such mortgage, deed of trust, pledge, lien or other encumbrance, in which event the recipient thereof shall assume all obligations of my personal representative and my estate in respect thereto. ARTICLE IV. TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY I give the items of tangible personal property, other than money, evidences of indebtedness, documents of title, securities, property used in trade or business and property not otherwise disposed of by this Will, to the persons designated in any written statement or list in my handwriting or signed by me, in existence at the time of my death. In the event two or more such lists exist at the time of my death, the written statement or list dated closer to the date of my death shall control. (WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND THIS PARAGRAPH RATHER THAN INCLUDING A COMPLETE LIST OF BEQUESTS IN YOUR WILL. REMEMBER THAT THE WILL SHOULD BE WRITTEN WITH A VIEW TOWARDS WHAT YOU WILL WANT DONE IN 50 PLUS YEARS; IN ALL LIKELIHOOD YOU WILL NOT CHANGE IT,ALTHOUGH YOU SHOULD AT LEAST REVIEW IT FROM TIME TO TIME. PUTTING SPECIFIC BEQUESTS INTO THE WILL ITSELF WILL ONLY CONFUSE THINGS UNLESS YOU DIE SOON, AND BENEFIT NO ONE BUT THE LAWYERS WHO GET TO REWRITE THE WILL TIME AFTER TIME. AT THE SAME TIME, HOWEVER, YOU SHOULD ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND WRITE OUT THE LIST OF BEQUESTS, PUTTING IT WITH THE ORIGINAL WILL, AND REVIEW THE LIST AND MAKE DESIRED REVISIONS ON A REGULAR BASIS.) I give all of my tangible personal property, other than items disposed of or excluded from disposition under the provisions of the first paragraph of this Article, and all policies and proceeds of insurance covering such property, to my spouse _______________,or, if my spouse predeceases me, to my children/child, in equal shares, and to their descendants by right of representation, consistent with Article V below. (IF NO SPOUSE OR CHILDREN THEN TO OTHER NAMED INDIVIDUAL HEIR(S), INCLUDING PERCENTAGE SHARES IF DESIRED AND NOT TOO COMPLICATED) If my children (CHILD / HEIRS) shall not survive me, I give such property to my ____________________, ___________________________________(ALTERNATE HEIR(S)) Expenses of delivering such property to my beneficiaries may, in the discretion of my personal representative, be paid by my estate. (WARNING!! / DO NOT TRY TO DISINHERIT YOUR SPOUSE OR CHILDREN WITHOUT SPECIFIC ADVICE FROM A LOCAL ATTORNEY / THE LAWS GOVERNING DISINHERITANCE VARY FROM STATE TO STATE) ARTICLE V. RESIDUARY ESTATE (THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE SHOULD BE THE SAME AS IN ARTICLE IV IMMEDIATELY ABOVE / THAT IS TO SAY THE HEIRS SHOULD BE THE SAME) All the rest, residue and remainder of my estate hereinafter referred to as my "residuary estate" I give to my spouse, ____________. If my spouse does not survive me I give my residuary estate to my child/children whether born or adopted, share and share alike, with rights of representation. If any child of mine predeceases me without descendants, I give my deceased child's share to my remaining residuary beneficiaries in proportion to their respective interests in my residuary estate. ARTICLE VI, GUARDIAN OF MINOR CHILDREN. (AGAIN YOU ARE GIVING TREMENDOUS POWERS TO THE GUARDIANS OF YOUR MINOR CHILDREN SO BE CAREFUL / SEE ARTICLE II ABOVE / CO-GUARDIANS (I.E. GRANDPARENTS, SPOUSES) ARE OK (BUT WHAT IF THEY GET DIVORCED?) / IT IS FAIRLY COMMON TO HAVE SEPARATE GUARDIANS AND PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVES, WHERE FOR EXAMPLE ONE FAMILY MEMBER IS GOOD WITH KIDS AND ANOTHER WITH MONEY) I appoint as guardian of the person and property of my minor child/children, and I give and place the custody of my minor child/children, whether now living or hereafter born, during their respective minorities to my spouse, (NAME) ______________________, to serve without bond, and if my spouse does not survive me and/or if (s)he does not qualify or for any reason ceases to serve as guardian, I appoint my (RELATIONSHIP)_______, (NAME(S)) ________________________, as guardian aforesaid. If he/she does not qualify or for any reason ceases to serve as guardian, I appoint my __________________, ________________________, as guardian aforesaid. ARTICLE VII. COMMON DISASTERS (THIS PROVISION IS OPTIONAL BUT GENERALLY A GOOD IDEA.) in the event that my spouse (NAME)______ , or any other heir hereunto, should die with me in a common disaster or accident, or within thirty (30) days after my death, I direct that my spouse or such heir shall be conclusively deemed not to have survived me. ARTICLE VIII. TAXES I direct my personal representative to pay out of my residuary estate, without apportionment against any beneficiaries or other persons, all estate, inheritance and succession taxes, including any interest and penalties payable by reason of my death in respect of any property includable in my gross estate for the purposes of any such tax. I authorize my personal representative to determine whether and what deductions shall be taken for federal estate or income tax purposes and to determine the date that shall be used for the valuation of property in my gross estate for federal estate tax purposes. The exercise of such powers shall not be questioned by anyone, and no person whose interest in my estate is diminished by the exercise of such powers shall receive any reimbursement for such diminution. ARTICLE IX. POWERS OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE (THIS ARTICLE IS LONG / IT IS INTENDED TO GRANT THE MAXIMUM POWER AND DISCRETION TO THE FIDUCIARIES OF THE ESTATE / WHILE IT CAN BE CHANGED, LIMITED OR ELIMINATED IT IS NOT ADVISABLE TO DO SO / IF YOU DON'T TRUST YOUR FIDUCIARIES THEN YOU PROBABLY SHOULD NOT BE DOING A SIMPLE WILL AND YOU DEFINITELY NEED TO CONSULT WITH AN ATTORNEY ABOUT PROBLEMS WHICH COULD ARISE) I authorize my personal representative to administrator my estate without the intervention of any court. In addition to, and without limitation upon, any other powers granted by this Will or by law, in the administration of my estate, my fiduciaries shall have the following powers, exercisable without court approval, upon such terms and conditions as my fiduciaries shall deem advisable: To retain any property owned by me, including any business or interest therein; to continue and conduct any business or enterprise in which I may be engaged at the time of my death; to sell or exchange any property at public or private sale, for cash or credit, with or without security; to invest and reinvest in shares of common trust funds, whether or not maintained by any corporate fiduciary serving hereunto; to mortgage, pledge, or lease any property or grant options with respect to it, for any period of time, whether or not extending beyond the administration of my estate or any funds held hereunto; to demolish, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property; to manage, insure, repair, improve, develop, subdivide, partition, and alter any property; to borrow money for any purpose in connection with the administration of my estate; to register and hold securities in bearer form; to incorporate any business or property and thereafter to hold a majority or minority interest in the corporation; to transfer any business or property to a limited or general partnership; to vote stock or securities, in person or by proxy; to continue, renew, extend, or modify any note, bond, or other indebtedness, or mortgage, and to enforce payment of such indebtedness or mortgage by foreclosure or otherwise; to employ legal counsel, accountants, brokers, custodians, managers, and other agents and employees, and to pay them reasonable compensation out of any fund held hereunto to which such compensation is attributable; to allocate receipts and disbursements between income and principal in such manner as my fiduciaries shall deem equitable; to distribute any property in kind or partially in kind in such manner as my fiduciaries shall deem equitable; to qualify or appoint a third party as ancillary administrator if necessary or desirable, and to compensate such ancillary administrator; to pay to themselves, as fiduciaries, reasonable compensation for their services and their reasonable and necessary expenses; and in general, subject to their fiduciary duties, to exercise any additional powers that I might exercise if I were living. ARTICLE X. TERMS Any reference in this Will to "children" or "descendants" shall include adopted persons and persons born before and after the date of this Will. I, (NAME)________________, the testator (MAN) / testatrix (WOMAN)) herein, sign my name to this instrument on the ___ day of ___________, l98___, and being first sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that I sign it willingly; that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it, and that I am l8 (OR WHATEVER IS THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN YOUR STATE) years of age and older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence. ___________________________________ (NAME OF PERSON WHOSE WILL THIS IS) (THE BLANKS BELOW CAN BE HANDWRITTEN IN AT THE TIME OF SIGNING THE WILL / SEE NOTES BELOW CONCERNING SIGNING THE WILL) We, (NAMES)________________________, _____________________, and _______________________, witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, and being first sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that the testator(rix) signs and executes this instrument as his/her Will and that (s)he signs it willingly and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator(rix), signs this Will as witness to his/her signing and that to the best of our knowledge, the testator(rix) is of legal age, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence. Witness:(SIGNATURE)______________________________ Residing at:(WITNESS ADDRESS)______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ Witness:______________________________ Residing at:______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ Witness:______________________________ Residing at:______________________________ ______________________________ ______________________________ STATE OF ________________) )ss COUNTY OF _______________) SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to and acknowledged before me by (NAME)_________________, the testator(rix), and subscribed and sworn to before me by (NAMES}______________________, ________________________, and _____________________, witnesses, this ____ day of _____________________, l9____. (SIG)_________________________________ Notary Public in and for the State of ______ My Commission Expires: ________ ************************************************************* *************** ************************************************************* *************** THIS IS THE END OF THE WILL. Make it look neat on your word processor,save it on disk, and print it out. After doing so is the best time to show it to an attorney for advice as to any particular twists in your state which you should be aware of. SIGNING THE WILL. The will is no good unless it is signed and witnessed! It is set up to be signed in front of three witnesses and a Notary Public. Most states require only two witnesses but a notary makes it go through probate easier in many state and a few places require three witnesses. (You might move there some day). Use all four to be safe. The will should be signed by everyone at the same time. THE WITNESSES AND NOTARY CANNOT BE HEIRS OR OTHERWISE MENTIONED IN THE WILL. We recommend having the person whose will it is initial every page (you can set that up easily with footers if you have them on your word processor) and then sign with his or her full name where noted at the end. WHERE TO KEEP YOUR ORIGINAL WILL. Once the will is signed it should be kept in a safe place where your heirs can find it upon your death, hopefully after many many years. Most probate courts have a will register where you can file original wills. Giving the original to your primary heirs and fiduciaries is another approach, and they should definitely have at least a copy. DO NOT PUT YOUR WILL INTO A SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX ! Such boxes often cannot be opened until probate, which could defeat the whole purpose of keeping probate to a minimum. Use common sense as to where your heirs can find best find it after your death.