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(This short read could save you millions!)

The most common reasons I hear from those who have not prepared a Will, are: (1) I don’t have a lot of assets; (2) my kids will get whatever is left, and (3) it’s too expensive.

These reasons are horrible.

Do you have a car, a house, a bank account? Are you in a second (or third) marriage? Do you have minor children, a child with a disability or step children? If you answered yes to any of these, and you die without a Will, your state laws will decide who receives the assets you’ve worked hard to accumulate. They will NOT all go automatically to your spouse, either. By not preparing a Will, you are saying, let the state make decisions for me. Potentially you are leaving your assets to people you have never met!

Read the true story of Henry, Wendy and Junior. [1]

Henry’s first wife died when his son, Junior was a baby. Henry met Wendy and they got married.  Henry and Wendy raised Junior, who was just three years old when his dad married Wendy. Not having any memories of his biological mom, Junior considered Wendy his mother and Wendy raised Junior as her son. They all lived together in a beautiful home. Henry made a nice living and Wendy was a nurse.

Junior grew up, went to college, moved to Chicago and started a family. Henry died at age 68. Years passed and Wendy grew old and developed dementia. A caregiver moved into Wendy’s house to care for her. The caregiver did more harm than good, and when Wendy was finally brought to the emergency room, the hospital staff was shocked at her malnourished condition, her gangrenous hand and her positive drug screening. Wendy could not go back to her home where she had been mistreated. Junior came forward and said he would bring Wendy to Chicago. Wendy was declared incapacitated and a Judge appointed Junior her legal guardian.

Within six months, Wendy died. Since Wendy was an Illinois resident at her death, Illinois law determined how her estate would be handled. Her estate had to be probated because someone had to have the authority to sell Wendy’s New Jersey house. Junior always thought his parents prepared Wills, but he could not find them. The abusive caregiver trashed Wendy’s New Jersey house and destroyed all papers.

Because she died in Illinois, Wendy’s estate was opened there, and then an ancillary proceeding was filed in New Jersey to sell the house. Without a Will stating who should be the executor, the Illinois court appointed an administrator. (An administrator is the same job as the executor – to manage the decedent’s estate. If there is a Will, the job is called executor. Without a Will, the job is called administrator.)

Shortly after Wendy’s death, Junior learned his father left Wendy assets in excess of two million dollars. It would be reasonable to assume that at Wendy’s death, these assets should pass to Junior. But remember -- no Will was found for Wendy.

Under Illinois intestate law, (meaning you die without a Will) step-children have no right to receive a penny! Instead of Junior inheriting his father’s wealth, an heir search located 54 distant relatives, not one of which ever met Wendy! They all claimed the money and under Illinois intestate law, these virtual strangers would be entitled to the two million dollars, not Junior.

While the estate administration was proceeding in the Illinois courts, Junior and his wife were packing their house to move when they found copies of Henry and Wendy’s Wills, written in 2000. Wendy’s Will provides if she outlives Henry, she leaves her entire estate to Junior.

Wendy’s original will has not been found, only a photocopy. Junior’s attorneys are trying to have the copy of Wendy’s Will admitted to probate as an original document. Attorneys for the 54 distant relatives are fighting this, saying they are entitled to the money and the copy of the Will should not be admitted to probate.

When people think a will costs too much, I tell them this story. The cost of the litigation far outweighs the cost of preparing a Will, properly drafted by an estate planning attorney. If Junior loses in court, he will not receive the millions of dollars his parents always intended to leave to him.

What could have been done to prevents this?

1.      After Henry and Wendy prepared their Wills, they should have put them in a secure location, such as a lock box or locked file cabinet in their home.

2.      At Henry’s death, Wendy should have probated Henry’s will. This would also have prompted her to make sure her Will was updated and kept in a secure location.

3.      Henry and Wendy should have told Junior that they prepared Wills and told Junior where they were kept.

If Wendy had never written a Will because she thought (1) she doesn’t have a lot of assets; (2) her stepson will get whatever is left, and (3) it’s too expensive, Junior would be completely out of luck, and 54 strangers would feel like they hit the multi-million dollar lottery.

Check us out on Facebook and our website (www.MaselliLaw.com) and I’ll update you when the Illinois court decides whether the copy of the Will should be treated as the original. If the Court allows it to be probated as the original will, Junior is the sole heir. If the Court does not accept the copy, the 54 strangers inherit Wendy’s assets.