If you have taken the time to create a will, the last thing you want is for that will to fail to be admitted to probate, whether partially or in its entirety. There are certain “must-have” clauses that you need to make sure your will contains. So, with that in mind, what follows are five such clauses:
Declaration and revocation clauses
When viewed together, the purpose of these clauses is to tell the reader that you absolutely, without a doubt, intend for this to be your will. Viewed separately, however, each conveys a unique but interrelated message: the declaration clause says, rather self-evidently, that you declare the document to be your will; the revocation clause supports the declaration clause because it says that you revoke all previous wills and codicils that you’ve prepared prior to the current one. A codicil is a document that modifies a currently existing will.
Residuary Clause
This clause is your will’s “catch-all” because it accounts for any property or assets that are accidentally omitted from any specific bequests located in other parts of the will.
Family Information Clause
The last thing you want to have happen after you die is for there to be any doubt in the mind of the probate court about who, exactly, is touched by your will. Inclusion of a family information clause will go a long way toward identifying who is in your immediate family.
Guardianship Clause
If you have small children then you absolutely need to include a clause designating a guardian for your children.
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