Before one passes away, they need to make sure their family is taken care of financially when they are gone. To do this, they should consider drafting a will to legally distribute their assets to their loved ones in a legal way. But, creating a will is not as simple as writing down who gets what. They must follow the rules in the state to make sure the will is valid.
Generally, to create a will, one must have legal and testamentary capacity. This means they have to be 18 or older, legally married or in the U.S. military. They must also have mentally capable of understanding the purpose of a will.
Next, the law requires that when they sign the will, they are acting voluntarily and have the requisite intent. This means that they intend to create a revocable disposition of property. If someone forces them to sign the will when they do not want to, the will cannot be valid.
The will can be handwritten or typed out and must detail the distribution of property (i.e., who gets what). But, it must be signed and dated in front of two witnesses who are not benefitting from the will. In addition to creating the will itself, they may also need to appoint an executor to handle all affairs at the end of one’s life.
Arizona residents should consult with an estate-planning attorney to make sure their will meets all the legal requirements. A valid will can ensure that property will end up in the right hands when one passes away.
Source: FindLaw.com, “What Is a ‘Valid Will’?,” accessed on Sept. 11, 2017
