How to Create A Legal Will Online
- Written by News Company
A will is an essential legal document that clearly states the desires of someone after the person passes away. With a will, you can successfully choose the beneficiaries of your properties and estates after you are gone. You can also avoid family disagreements over your wealth when you are no longer there to have a say.
A will can be written or visual. Usually, an attorney is consulted in the drafting of a will. However, an online legal will is becoming a popular option recently due to innovations in technology. With an online will, you can write and save your will online. A legal online will is considerably easier, faster, and cheaper than writing a will with an attorney.
It’s important to note that you don't have to be sick or ready to die before creating your will. You can create your will using the online approach as soon as you want. Here’s how you can create a legal will online.
- Download A Legal Will Form
The very first step in creating an online will is to download the will form. The form will ensure you provide all the necessary information required for creating the will.
Some of the questions you’ll find in the will form are, are you married? If yes, how many wives do you have? Do you have children? If yes, how many? What is your residential address? What is your total net worth? How many building properties do you have?
Correctly answering these and other questions is very important, because it will go a long way in determining how you willed your estates and other assets to your loved ones. Going through the online will form will also tell you what more information you need to collect to make a good will.
- Select Your Will Executor
Once you’ve downloaded and filled the necessary information in the will form, the next step is to select your will executor. Your will executor is the person who will carry out your desires, as stated in the will.
The will executor is also the one who decides who gets what according to the will. He/she also takes care of things like your pets, debts, and taxes. To make the work smoother, you can name more than one executor. Your will executor must be someone you trust. Put the details of the executor (s) in the will if you haven’t done so yet.
- Create Your Assets And Liabilities List
After you’ve selected your will executor, the next thing to do is to create your assets and liabilities list. Before you do that, conduct a physical check of your assets and liabilities to make sure that you account for them on the list accurately. This is one area you can't afford to make any mistakes. So, take your time and prepare a comprehensive and accurate list.
Your asset list will include your properties and other things that generate income for you. These can consist of your landed properties, your housing properties, companies, gold, and precious stones in jewelry, etc. Your liabilities, on the other hand, are the things that take money from you. These include your taxes and debts.
Creating this list will enable you to know what you have and what you owe. The list will help you to make informed decisions. You can properly decide on how to share your assets, and make adequate plans to pay your loans, taxes, and debts. These details can be included in your online will.
- 4. Name Your Beneficiaries
The next step after creating your assets and liabilities list is to name your beneficiaries specifically. At this stage, you have to be very clear and avoid any form of ambiguity. You have to state the first, middle, and last name of each beneficiary. This will ensure that the right person gets the desired inheritance.
Aside from this, you also need to state the working and home address of each beneficiary. Adding such details will ensure that your will is carried out exactly how you want it. Make sure that these details are accurately reflected in your online will.
- Have Witnesses
Adding witnesses to your will is the final stage of creating your legal will online. This is quite simple, which is another reason you should consider an online will.
First, you must save the will form and print it out. Sign the printed document. Then you’ll need two witnesses to sign the will. Preferably, these witnesses should be different from your executor(s). When you are done with getting the signatures, you can scan the signed will and save the signed copy again.
After that, you’ll need to keep the printed will somewhere safe and private. You can save it in your bank deposit box and leave instructions on how it can be retrieved when you are gone. You can also keep it with your lawyer or executor (s).
Conclusion
The world is currently going through a turbulent and global health pandemic. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s extremely important for you to create your will. While there is nothing wrong with the traditional way of writing a will with a lawyer in his chamber, creating a legal online will can save you time and money. The simple steps involved in creating an online will include selecting your will executor, creating your assets and liabilities list, and naming your beneficiaries. Once you’ve got the details ready, download and fill the legal will form, print the form, and get witnesses to sign the form. Following the exact guidelines in this article will help you create an online will that’s as effective and binding as the traditional will.
