A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death. The testator must clearly identify himself or herself as the maker of the will, and that a will is being made, this is commonly called “publication” of the will, and is typically satisfied by the words “last will and testament” on the face of the document. There is no legal requirement that a will be drawn up by a lawyer, although there are pitfalls into which homemade wills can fall. Intentional physical destruction of a will by the testator will revoke it, through deliberately burning or tearing the physical document itself, or by striking out the signature. In most jurisdictions, partial revocation is allowed if only part of the text or a particular provision is crossed out.
Although Wills are usually made for disposing property, they can also be made for appointing executors, for creating trusts and for appointing testamentary guardians of minor children. When a person dies without having made a Will, he is said to have died intestate. His property is then inherited by his legal heirs in accordance with the law of inheritance applicable to him. It must be noted here that legal heirs generally include close family members such as one’s spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters.
A living trust is a trust created during a person’s lifetime to either save money on taxes or set up long-term property management. All living trusts are designed to avoid probate proceedings and may in addition be used to reduce taxes, safeguard financial privacy, and to regulate the use of assets if the owner becomes incapacitated, and for other purposes. Living trusts are often used because they may allow assets to be passed to heirs without going through the process of probate. Avoiding probate will normally save substantial costs.