Making a Will

There is more than one way to skin a cat. - Ancient rodent proverb.

There are a number of ways to draft a will. The types of wills that you can make for yourself or have made for you can vary greatly. They come in a broad range of complexity and drafting difficulty. Always keep in mind what you want to achieve with your will and factor this in when picking a will drafting method. Knowing how to get what you want can often be just as important as knowing what you want. This principle definitely applies when it comes to making your will.

At the same time, never forget that, while you may save some money by using a less expensive method to create your will, the price of failure when making a will is high. Saving a few dollars at the outset could result in having a part of or (worse) the entire will invalidated when it gets to probate court. In such a case, a state's intestate succession default rules will control the distribution of the estate assets, which may or may not reflect your preferred method for distribution. The state's distribution default rules, however, will not compensate for any other part of the will that gets invalidated. So, no matter how you make your will, make sure that it is validly made.

With the above considerations in mind, take a look at the following choices of how you can make your will:

• Homemade Wills: Life-long do-it-yourselfers will be happy to learn that they can actually make their own wills from scratch. Before jumping in, however, learn about the risks, as well as the rewards, of making your own will.
• Canned Wills: Like soup in a can, you can purchase ready-made books, kits, and software with wills for you to use. Learn the pros and cons of this will making method.
• Attorney Drafted Wills: Perhaps the most traditional option of the bunch, see if this is the right method for you.