Northern Virginia Wills Attorney

Northern Virginia Wills

Even if you have a trust, a will is an essential part of your estate plan. This document can give you control over who will receive your property when you pass on, and it is the place to designate a guardian for your minor children. You can even use your will to contribute to a charity after you pass away.

Unlike a living will that will provide for your care if you become incapacitated, your last will and testament will not go into effect until after death. However, you should not put off drafting your will. Contact a Northern Virginia wills attorney at PJI Law for help.

Requirements For A Valid Will

Wills must usually meet certain requirements to be valid in the eyes of the law. The requirements include:

• The testator must be 18 years of age or older
• The document must be in writing (i.e., oral wills are not valid)
• The testator must sign the document
• The testator must be competent and create the will voluntarily
• Two people must witness the document

Guardianship for Minor Children

If you have minor children, you can name a guardian for them in your will. Then, if you and the other parent pass away while the child is under 18, the court will look to your will as opposed to choosing a guardian on its own.

Along with your first choice, it’s wise to choose one or two backup guardians in case anything happens. Choose guardians who will be able to care for your children until they reach the age of 18. You should also make sure the guardians would raise your children as you wish. Your Northern Virginia wills attorney can help you include a guardian in the document, and can even assist you with providing directions to your guardian on how you would like your children to be raised. The attorney can also go over estate planning options you can use to provide financial support to your minor children upon your death.

Pour-over wills in Northern Virginia

A Northern Virginia wills attorney at PJI Law can also help you create a pour-over will as part of your estate plan. A pour-over will is beneficial if you have a revocable trust. You will fund your revocable trust with property from your estate. Regardless of how diligent you are, it’s possible to forget to transfer property into the trust. Without a pour-over will, the state will follow the laws of intestacy to distribute the property. You can prevent that by creating a pour-over will. It will contain all the property that you did not include in your revocable trust. Then your property will be distributed based on your wishes.