Simple Will to Children

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 
OF

                                                                    

I,                                        , of                                         County, publish and declare this to be my Will and revoke all former Wills and Codicils executed by me.

ARTICLE I
IDENTIFICATION OF FAMILY

     My children now living are                                                                               
                                                                                                   
. All references herein to my "child" or "children" shall include the above-named child or children, as well as all children hereafter born to or adopted by me.

ARTICLE II
DEBTS AND EXPENSES

     My executor shall pay my debts, costs of administration and expenses of last illness and burial from my estate; provided, however, that my executor shall not accelerate and prepay the principal balance remaining on any mortgage, installment purchase contract, or other evidence of indebtedness secured by a security interest upon any property or interest in property I own, unless my executor, in its sole discretion, determines that it is in the best interests of my beneficiaries to do so.


ARTICLE III
PERSONAL ITEMS

     I direct my executor to distribute my tangible personal property, with substantial equality, to my living children or to sell my tangible personal property and distribute the proceeds with the residue of my estate, as my executor shall determine.


ARTICLE IV
PAYMENT OF TAXES

I direct that all inheritance, estate, succession, or other similar taxes (excluding, however, any generation-skipping taxes) against my taxable estate or the recipients thereof, including any taxes arising from the transfer or receipt of assets that are not part of my probate estate, shall be paid from the residue of my estate. Such taxes shall not be charged against the respective beneficiaries, and my executor shall not seek reimbursement from anyone therefor, except to the extent that my executor has a right by reason of Sections 2207 or 2207A of the Internal Revenue Code to seek contribution or reimbursement for taxes resulting from the inclusion in my estate of property over which I have a power of appointment or in which I have a qualified income interest for life.

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

ARTICLE V
RESIDUE OF ESTATE

     I bequeath the residue of my estate in equal shares to my children. If a child for whom a share has been created shall fail to survive me, that child's share shall be distributed per stirpes to his or her descendants, if any, or if none, then per stirpes to my then living children and the descendants, collectively, of any deceased child of mine.

ARTICLE VI
REMOTE CONTINGENCY DISTRIBUTION

     If, at any time before final distribution hereunder, there shall not be in existence anyone who is, or might become, entitled to receive benefits under the foregoing provisions of this Will, then any portion of the estate then remaining shall be paid over and distributed outright in such proportions and to those heirs of mine as shall be determined as though I had died intestate, a resident of                            (state).

ARTICLE VII
APPOINTMENT, RESIGNATION AND SUCCESSION OF EXECUTORS

     I nominate                                                                                as executor.
     If 
                                                                    should fail or cease to act as executor, I direct that                                                                       shall serve.
     Any successor executor appointed hereunder shall have all the rights, powers, authorities and discretion herein conferred upon the original executor. No successor executor shall be obliged to inquire into or be in any way accountable for the acts of the executor.
     No bond will be required of any executor appointed pursuant to this Will.
     To save expense and simplify procedure in my estate, I direct that no guardian ad litem or similar proceedings shall be required. Any fiduciary shall be released and relieved from any further responsibility or liability for its acts occurring during a period for which it has received the written approval of the adult beneficiaries. The parent, legal guardian, or conservator of a beneficiary may represent such beneficiary. Any notice to or action by such parent, legal guardian, or conservator shall be binding on such beneficiary, and have the same effect as if delivered to or executed by an adult or competent beneficiary.

ARTICLE VIII
CONCERNING THE EXECUTORS

     I authorize my executor to file income or gift tax returns, and in its discretion to pay any part or all of the taxes, interest, or penalties in connection with any such returns. The decision of my executor in this regard shall be conclusive. I authorize my executor to make such elections under the tax laws as my executor deems advisable, in each case without regard to the relative interests of the beneficiaries. My executor need not make adjustments between principal and income, or in the interests of the beneficiaries, to compensate for the effects of such elections. Any decision made by my executor with respect to the exercise of any tax election shall be binding and conclusive on all persons.

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

     I hereby authorize my executor, as the case may be, to make transfers to the custodian of any beneficiary under the age of twenty-one (21) years for the benefit of said beneficiary under the State Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or equivalent legislation in                            (state).
     My executor shall have all powers granted by the State Probate Code to fiduciaries, including the power to sell real and personal property without court approval. In addition, I empower my executor, without order of court and without notice to anyone to settle, compromise or pay any claim, including taxes, asserted in favor of or against me or my estate; and to permit any of the beneficiaries hereunder to enjoy the use in kind, during the administration of my estate, of any tangible personal property without liability on the part of the beneficiary for unintentional, non-negligent injury, consumption or loss of the property so used.

ARTICLE IX
DEFINITIONS

The provisions herein contained shall be supplemented by and, when necessary, shall be subject to the following:

  1. The singular expression "executor," "descendant," "beneficiary," or "person," and any other singular words, shall include the plural, and plural expressions shall include the singular, and the context of this instrument shall be read accordingly when the facts require it.

  2. The feminine, masculine or neuter pronoun shall be taken to refer to the person or persons intended regardless of number or gender, and a singular pronoun may be taken to express a plural pronoun and a plural pronoun may be taken to express a singular pronoun when the facts require it.

  3. All adopted persons who were adopted at a time they were less than eighteen (18) years of age shall have the same status and rights as natural born persons under this Will and all provisions thereof.

  4. References herein to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall include substantially similar provisions of any subsequent enactment, provided the overall dispositive arrangement is not substantially changed as a result thereof.

     I subscribe this my Will on the            day of                                   ,           , before two (2) witnesses, and declare this instrument, consisting of                           (         ) pages, including                               page, to be my Will.

     Dated this            day of                                        ,            .

                                                         
TESTATOR

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

 

ATTESTATION CLAUSE

 

     The foregoing instrument was signed by                                        (or signed in the name of                                         in the Testator's presence and at his/her direction) as and for his/her Last Will and we, having witnessed the signing (or the Testator's acknowledgment of the signature) (or the Testator's acknowledgment of the Will), have by our signatures hereunto subscribed our names and addresses as attesting witnesses on the date last above written.

 

                                                                                                                       
Signed Signed
 

 

                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
Address Address

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

SELF-PROVED WILL

 

     I,                                        , the Testator, sign my name to this instrument this           day of                                        ,           , and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my Last Will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

                                                           
(Testator)

     We,                                         and                                        , the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, being first duly sworn, and do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signs and executes this instrument as his/her Last Will and that he/she signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for him/her), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the Testator, hereby signs this Will as witness to the Testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the Testator is eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.

                                                                                                                      
Witness Witness

 

State of                                         )
)ss
County of                                         )

     Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by                                      , the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by                                              and                                             , witnesses, this               day of                            ,          .

(SEAL)                                                            
(Signed)
                                                            
(Official Capacity of Officer)

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

Simple Will to Spouse/Children

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT 
OF
                                                                              

     I,                                        , of                                         County, publish and declare this to be my Will and revoke all former Wills and Codicils executed by me.

ARTICLE I
IDENTIFICATION OF FAMILY

     My spouse’s name, and the person referred to herein whenever the term “my spouse” is used, is                                        . My children now living are                                                                               . All references herein to my "child" or "children" shall include the above-named child or children, as well as all children hereafter born to or adopted by me.

ARTICLE II
DEBTS AND EXPENSES

     My executor shall pay my debts, costs of administration and expenses of last illness and burial from my estate; provided, however, that my executor shall not accelerate and prepay the principal balance remaining on any mortgage, installment purchase contract, or other evidence of indebtedness secured by a security interest upon any property or interest in property I own, unless my executor, in its sole discretion, determines that it is in the best interests of my beneficiaries to do so.

ARTICLE III
PERSONAL ITEMS

     I direct my executor to distribute my tangible personal property to my spouse, if my spouse survives me by 60 days. If my spouse does not survive me by 60 days, such property shall be distributed with substantial equality to my living children or shall be sold and the proceeds distributed with the residue of my estate, as my executor shall determine.

ARTICLE IV
PAYMENT OF TAXES

     I direct that all inheritance, estate, succession, or other similar taxes (excluding, however, any generation-skipping taxes) against my taxable estate or the recipients thereof, including any taxes arising from the transfer or receipt of assets that are not part of my probate estate, shall be paid from the residue of my estate. Such taxes shall not be charged against the respective beneficiaries, and my executor shall not seek reimbursement from anyone therefor, except to the extent that my executor has a right by reason of Sections 2207 or 2207A of the Internal Revenue Code to seek contribution or reimbursement for taxes resulting from the inclusion in my estate of property over which I have a power of appointment or in which I have a qualified income interest for life.

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

ARTICLE V
RESIDUE OF ESTATE

     I bequeath the residue of my estate to my spouse, if my spouse survives me by 60 days. If my spouse does not survive me by 60 days, then I bequeath the residue of my estate in equal shares to my children. If a child for whom a share has been created shall fail to survive me, that child's share shall be distributed per stirpes to his or her descendants, if any, or if none, then per stirpes to my then living children and the descendants, collectively, of any deceased child of mine.

ARTICLE VI
REMOTE CONTINGENCY DISTRIBUTION

     If, at any time before final distribution hereunder, there shall not be in existence anyone who is, or might become, entitled to receive benefits under the foregoing provisions of this Will, then any portion of the estate then remaining shall be paid over and distributed outright in such proportions and to those heirs of mine as shall be determined as though I had died intestate, a resident of                            (state).

ARTICLE VII
APPOINTMENT, RESIGNATION AND SUCCESSION OF EXECUTORS

     I nominate                                                                                as executor.
     If 
                                        should fail or cease to act as executor, I direct that                                         shall serve.
     Any successor executor appointed hereunder shall have all the rights, powers, authorities and discretion herein conferred upon the original executor. No successor executor shall be obliged to inquire into or be in any way accountable for the acts of the executor.
     No bond will be required of any executor appointed pursuant to this Will.
     To save expense and simplify procedure in my estate, I direct that no guardian ad litem or similar proceedings shall be required. Any fiduciary shall be released and relieved from any further responsibility or liability for its acts occurring during a period for which it has received the written approval of the adult beneficiaries. The parent, legal guardian, or conservator of a beneficiary may represent such beneficiary. Any notice to or action by such parent, legal guardian, or conservator shall be binding on such beneficiary, and have the same effect as if delivered to or executed by an adult or competent beneficiary.

ARTICLE VIII
CONCERNING THE EXECUTORS

     I authorize my executor to file income or gift tax returns, and in its discretion to pay any part or all of the taxes, interest, or penalties in connection with any such returns. The decision of my executor in this regard shall be conclusive. I authorize my executor to make such elections under the tax laws as my executor deems advisable, in each case without regard to the relative interests of the beneficiaries. My executor need not make adjustments between principal and income, or in the interests of the beneficiaries, to compensate for the effects of such elections. Any decision made by my executor with respect to the exercise of any tax election shall be binding and conclusive on all persons.

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

     I hereby authorize my executor, as the case may be, to make transfers to the custodian of any beneficiary under the age of twenty-one (21) years for the benefit of said beneficiary under the State Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or equivalent legislation in                            (state).
     My executor shall have all powers granted by the State Probate Code to fiduciaries, including the power to sell real and personal property without court approval. In addition, I empower my executor, without order of court and without notice to anyone to settle, compromise or pay any claim, including taxes, asserted in favor of or against me or my estate; and to permit any of the beneficiaries hereunder to enjoy the use in kind, during the administration of my estate, of any tangible personal property without liability on the part of the beneficiary for unintentional, non-negligent injury, consumption or loss of the property so used.

ARTICLE IX
DEFINITIONS

     The provisions herein contained shall be supplemented by and, when necessary, shall be subject to the following:

  1. The singular expression "executor," "descendant," "beneficiary," or "person," and any other singular words, shall include the plural, and plural expressions shall include the singular, and the context of this instrument shall be read accordingly when the facts require it.

  2. The feminine, masculine or neuter pronoun shall be taken to refer to the person or persons intended regardless of number or gender, and a singular pronoun may be taken to express a plural pronoun and a plural pronoun may be taken to express a singular pronoun when the facts require it.

  3. All adopted persons who were adopted at a time they were less than eighteen (18) years of age shall have the same status and rights as natural born persons under this Will and all provisions thereof.

  4. References herein to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code shall include substantially similar provisions of any subsequent enactment, provided the overall dispositive arrangement is not substantially changed as a result thereof.

     I subscribe this my Will on the           day of                                    ,          , before two (2) witnesses, and declare this instrument, consisting of                                         (        ) pages, including                                       page, to be my Will.

     Dated this               day of                                        ,           .

                                                         
TESTATOR

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

 

ATTESTATION CLAUSE

 

     The foregoing instrument was signed by                                        (or signed in the name of                                         in the Testator's presence and at his/her direction) as and for his/her Last Will and we, having witnessed the signing (or the Testator's acknowledgment of the signature) (or the Testator's acknowledgment of the Will), have by our signatures hereunto subscribed our names and addresses as attesting witnesses on the date last above written.

 

                                                                                                              
Signed Signed
 

 

                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
Address Address

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

 

SELF-PROVED WILL

 

     I,                                        , the Testator, sign my name to this instrument this           day of                                        ,           , and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my Last Will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

                                                       
(Testator)

     We,                                         and                                        , the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, being first duly sworn, and do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the Testator signs and executes this instrument as his/her Last Will and that he/she signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for him/her), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the Testator, hereby signs this Will as witness to the Testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the Testator is eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence.

                                                                                                              
Witness Witness

 

State of                                         )
)ss
County of                                         )

     Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by                                      , the Testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by                                              and                                             , witnesses, this               day of                            ,          .

(SEAL)                                                       
(Signed)
                                                     
(Official Capacity of Officer)

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

 

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  An attorney must be consulted.
Copyright © 1994 - 2015 by LAWCHEK, LTD.

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