A will is a way for you to decide what you want to have happened to your estate after you pass away. However, you don't want your loved ones to be in a situation where parts of the will are complicated because of what you put into it. Here are things that you should avoid putting into a will.
Funeral Arrangements
If you have wishes for what you want to happen after you pass away, know that a will is not the place to put this information. This is because a will is not always found before the funeral arrangements are made, and it can lead to a lot of guilt when a family finds out afterward that they did the wrong things. Always make your wishes known to your immediate family, and do not leave it as a surprise for them to discover in your will.
Organ Donation Wishes
Being an organ donor is a great way to save the lives of others after they pass away. However, this is something that needs to be done promptly for it to be effective at doing so. Much like with funeral arrangements, being notified that you are an organ donor in your will means that it will be too late by the time it is discovered. Go through the proper steps to be an organ donor, which include identifying that you want to be on your driver's license. This will help ensure that you are actually able to donate your organs after you pass.
End Of Life Care
If you have wishes about how you will be cared for at the end of your life, this information needs to go into a living will rather than your last will. Even though the two documents are called a will, they serve two different purposes and are separate documents. It will help identify if you have a request to not be resuscitated or to not use life support.
Retirement Accounts
There are many things that do not go into a will because there are other ways to identify who it is passed on to. This is true when it comes to deciding who gets a retirement account. You actually have a beneficiary that you list on the account, which allows that account to be passed onto them without going through probate. The problem will happen when you have one person as a beneficiary and another person listed in the will since it creates a conflict with who you actually want to receive the money.
To learn more information about creating a will, reach out to an estate lawyer near you.