A Gallup poll from 2021 found only 46% of US adults have a will. Americans aged 65 and older are more likely to have a will, with just over 3/4 saying they have one. That still seems pretty low to me. Let me discuss what happens when you die in Idaho without a will and special situations that beg for proper estate planning.
Your Spouse Won’t Get Everything in Idaho
Even in a community property state like Idaho, your spouse does not get everything if you die without a will. State laws determine who gets what when you die without a will. All the joint property (community property) passes to the surviving spouse but you may also have separate property. If you have children, they get half of your separate property. If you don’t have living children, your parents get half of your separate property. Essentially, your spouse does not get everything unless you have no kids or parents when you die.
Your Boyfriend or Girlfriend Gets Nothing in Idaho
What if you are not married and die without a will in Idaho? Unmarried partners get nothing and step-children get nothing when you don’t have a will. State law says that everything goes to your children. If you don’t have children, everything goes to your parents. If you don’t have children or living parents, everything goes to your siblings. Maybe that doesn’t sound too bad but don’t forget that your beneficiaries will still have to go through probate. Read this previous post about why probate is expensive, complex, stressful, and long in Idaho.
You Need a Will When You Have Minor Children
If you have children under the age of 18, a will is the only way you can designate a guardian to take care of your children if you die. Otherwise, a judge makes these critical decisions. Do the judges in your district know your children as well as you and know what is best for them? Do you want a stranger to manage your children’s finances and make all the parenting decisions in your absence?
You Need a Will When You Get Divorced
After a divorce, you need a new or revised estate plan that cuts out your ex-spouse and names other beneficiaries. State law says ex-spouses cannot inherit from you. You may also want to remove your ex-spouse from making any financial or health care decisions for you by updating your Powers of Attorney. A good estate plan can also ensure your ex-spouse doesn’t manage money that you leave to your children while they are minors.
Other Situations
Inheritances
Inheritances that you receive are your separate property and not owned jointly with your spouse. Your estate plan can keep that inheritance separate so that it will not go to your spouse in case of a divorce. However, if you don’t seek legal counsel to do this correctly, your separate property can be converted into community property which allows your spouse to take half of it in case of a divorce.
Health Concerns
You need to plan for incapacity with Powers of Attorney. Basically, these are documents that let someone take care of you when you cannot take care of yourself. A will only operates when you die, so it doesn’t handle your incapacity, but a Will-Based Estate Plan includes Powers of Attorney.
Even Online Wills Need Formal Signing
Looking online, you will find many cheap options to create a will without consulting a lawyer. As I wrote in my post about online wills, there are some good aspects but the bad outweighs the good. Your online will isn’t even valid if not witnessed. Do you know who can serve as a witness in Idaho? Do you know if your will is invalid in Idaho if it is signed by an interested witness? An estate planning attorney can explain all of this for you and provide formal signing of a will.
In summary, you need a will at almost every important stage of life. Don’t wait until it is too late, contact me to schedule an appointment for a complete estate plan.