Get peace of mind with a last will

A last will is quicker and easier to set up, but it needs to go through the court probate process after your death. Probate court can be time consuming and expensive, depending on your state.

A living trust allows your loved ones to avoid the potential hassle of probate court. But trusts require you to change the title to most of your assets, which means more paperwork and ongoing maintenance.

Probate is the legal process through which the court oversees how an estate and assets will be distributed. While there are many benefits to having oversight of the process by the probate court, it can be time consuming and expensive depending on your state.

If you create a last will, your assets will be distributed to your named beneficiaries as part of the probate process. If you create a trust, your assets will be distributed to your beneficiaries without going through the probate process.

In many states, probate may not be required if the estate is of minimal value.

Yes, our team of experienced attorneys have designed our last wills to meet the specific laws and requirements of each U.S. state.

Last wills need to meet the following criteria to be legally binding:

• You must be of sound mind when you write it
• You must be acting of your own free will without undue influence or duress from others
• It must be signed and witnessed according to the applicable laws of your state

Yes, for the most part. You can leave anyone out of your last will, subject to certain limitations. Many laws have been enacted to protect spouses and minor children. If you wish to do so, you should consider talking with an attorney and clearly state your intentions in your last will.

Yes, you can revoke a last will any time before your death by making a new last will that states that all prior last wills are no longer valid. To revoke a last will without making a new one, all you have to do is intentionally tear it up, deface it, burn it, or destroy it.

One way to make changes to a last will, without revoking it entirely, is to make a codicil, which is an amendment to a last will. A codicil to a last will must be signed and witnessed in the same way as the original last will. If you ever want to amend your last will, you need to follow the same signing requirements each time or else your last will may not reflect your current wishes and could be more subject to dispute.

The general rule is that all debts must be paid before any assets are distributed. Your outstanding credit card balances, for instance, are generally paid before any money or gifts are distributed to your heirs.

An exception to this general rule is for "secured debts," that is, debts that allow the lender to take possession of a specific piece of tangible personal property if the debt is not repaid. Examples of such secured debts are mortgages or auto loans. If a piece of property is collateral for a secured debt, that personal possession can be distributed, but the debt will generally go with it. For instance, say you have a car worth $10,000 and a loan on the car of $5,000. You can leave the car to someone in your will, but it will be that person's obligation to pay off the loan.

What happens if you owe more than you own? In general, people cannot inherit another person's debts. If there is not enough cash in the estate to pay debts, all property of the estate will be sold to pay the debts and no one will inherit anything. For example, if someone dies owing $12,000 in credit card debt, but has cash and property worth only $10,000, the property will be sold and the $10,000 will be paid to the credit card issuer.

Assist is our legal guidance subscription service, which gives you unlimited 30-minute calls on new personal legal matters to vetted attorneys in our network. It is included in our Premium estate plan packages, including Will Estate Plan Premium, where it also includes comprehensive estate plan review.

The terms "will" and "testament" are often used interchangeably. They both describe a legal document that tells others how you want an executor to manage your estate after you pass.

They didn't always mean the same thing, though. Previously, you passed on real estate to others with a “last will." You used a “testament" to pass on personal property like money and jewelry.

Over time, the distinction between the two became so blurred meaning that, today, they're now a “last will and testament." A last will and testament now covers both real estate and personal property. They've been extended further to cover other areas like naming legal guardians for your minor children and choosing an executor for your estate.

So when people say “will" these days, they often mean “last will and testament."

No, but a last will can be part of an estate plan. A last will is a single legal document that details who will inherit from you after you pass away. An estate plan does more—for example, it also gives you the power to appoint people you trust to make financial and health care decisions on your behalf and share treatment preferences with medical staff when you can't communicate.

Online will services are very common. At LegalZoom, we have 20 years of experience helping customers create their online wills. Our last wills were drafted by attorneys—plus, we provide the option of having your last will reviewed by an attorney from our network before you sign. Our last wills are also state-specific and come with signing instructions based on your state's laws. You should use caution when considering a downloadable last will and testament form because they may not be state-specific or drafted by an attorney.

There are some situations where you may not want to use an online legal service to create your last will. For large estates or special situations—like having beneficiaries with special needs or a blended family—hiring an attorney could be a good option because they can provide customized advice. Online will services like LegalZoom can also team you up with an experienced attorney from our network for an affordable monthly subscription fee.

LegalZoom is a trusted online service with a 4.6 out of 5 rating from nearly 20,000 reviews from our own customers. We've prepared over 3.5 million estate planning documents, including last wills and testaments, since 2001. You can make a will with us and feel confident that it meets your state's legal requirements. Our Will Estate Plan Premium plan also gives you access to an attorney licensed in your state who can guide you while you’re creating your estate plan and review your documents when you’re done.

You’ll be all set to start building your estate plan using our online questionnaire. Before you begin, if you purchased a plan with Assist, we recommend scheduling a call with an estate plan attorney from our network to answer any questions you may have about the process.

Once you’ve submitted your answers, we’ll prepare your paperwork. It will typically be available for download within 2-3 business days, then you can review and sign. With Assist, an attorney can review your completed documents.