Intestacy

It sounds like something having to do with running a country. Succession planning isn’t just something kings and presidents worry about: people who run businesses are always worried about whether or not their business will live on after they die. After all, can you trust someone to run things as well as you do?

When discussing succession planning with an attorney, you should be advised of more than just who will inherit your business. You should be made aware that the person you select to own your business after you die will be responsible for its management, at least at a very broad and high level. You don’t want your business to die after you pass on.

There’s a common belief, even held by some attorneys, that you do not need to have a will or any type of estate planning done before you die. Many feel that the intestacy laws, the laws regarding people who die without a will or trust that manages their assets, are written well enough that your loved ones will get what they need when you die.

For some, this will be true. If you own a home together with a spouse and you die, your spouse will own the house without having to go through probate as long as the home was purchased jointly by the spouses when they were married. Most people’s estates are made up of a piece of real property, a car or two, and whatever is left in the bank.