Why Everybody (Yes, You Too) Needs a Will

Aug. 5, 2008 — -- Imagine you're a young adult, unmarried but living with your partner in a home the two of you bought together. Two months before the wedding, you're critically injured in an automobile accident and later die.

Whom do the doctors update about your condition? Who decides the critical questions about your care? And what happens to the house you bought with the person you expected to share a long life with?

These are all reasons why just about every adult, no matter their age or family status, needs basic estate-planning documents that dictate their wishes if they die or become incapacitated.

Yes, we're talking about a will to detail how your property is distributed. But we're also talking about powers of attorney, living wills and authorizations that allow doctors to share your private medical information with others.

Many people, particularly young adults, think they have no need for a will, much less other documents that outline their wishes in the event of death, illness or accident. Not true.

Nearly every adult, no matter the age or the circumstance, should have these basic documents in place, said Randy Gardner, an estate-planning attorney and professor of tax and financial planning at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

"No one knows when they're going to die," Gardner said.

And if you die without your own plan, then the state where you live has its own plan -- one that your survivors may or may not like.

The plan is based on what are called intestate laws. These laws vary by state, but generally, they dictate that if a married person dies without a will, the property goes to the spouse. In the cases of an unmarried person with no children, it goes to the parents. And if a married person with children dies, the property is split between the spouse and the children, regardless of age.

In some cases, these distributions may be what the deceased person wanted, but certainly not in every case. And it will be a more costly and time-consuming process.

That's why you want a will and a basic estate plan.