Creating an estate plan can be a complicated process and can become even more complex when you are trying to do planning for another person. With the correct information regarding your and their rights and knowledge of the law, you can successfully create a will for someone else.
It’s a fairly common practice to create a will for someone you love. Use the following information to help you decide if you should attempt to create a will for someone else.
Can You Create a Will for Another Person?
It’s not uncommon for people to create wills for someone else. Married people can create wills for each other, for example, which is relatively common.
How Do I Create a Will for Another Person?
If you are the one who is creating the will, the person you are creating it for must review and approve the document before it is executed. Creating the will for someone else can make the process go faster, but they still must execute the will for it to be a valid document.
Don’t forget, when you are creating a will for someone else, the information is relative to them. For example, if you create a will for your parents, you would list yourself and your siblings as heirs or beneficiaries.
Creating a Will for Someone Diagnosed with Dementia
Imagine you’ve discovered that your parent doesn’t have a will that outlines their wishes, and they have just been diagnosed with dementia. If you’re wondering if you can still create a will for them, the answer is yes, but it should be done as soon as possible. Taking care of creating the will as soon as you can helps to avoid questions and complications later.
For a will to be valid, an adult who has “testamentary capacity” must sign it. Testamentary capacity means that they understand what is being signed. Questions about their ability to understand what they are signing may come up after death leading to delays in the process. The best way to prevent questions about their ability to understand what they are signing is to do it as soon as possible, and you might choose to video them signing it, so people can see how aware they were at the moment of signing.
Creating a Will for Your Spouse
Many married couples choose to write one will for the both of them. Even if they create a separate will for each person, one spouse will often outline and create both documents. Regardless of which route you choose for you and your spouse, you both need to review everything before either of you signs the documents. It’s essential for you to discuss things with each other and be involved in the planning process for both parties.
Creating a Will for Your Child
Creating a will for your child or children is usually unnecessary. However, you should create your own plans to prepare for them should the unthinkable happen. If both parents die at the same time, having a trust in place for minor children is wise. A trust can establish plans for the children but hold all assets and directives regarding benefits until a specified age or until legal adulthood.
One way to set up a trust is to allow your child access to a certain amount to cover their needs, but then establish when they get full access to the inheritance. You could set it for a certain age, their marriage, graduation, or some other large milestone. When you create a trust, you can have confidence that even if you aren’t there to oversee it, your loved ones will be cared for in the future.
Points to Remember
It is possible and relatively common for someone to create a will for someone else. If you are creating a will for someone else, that person must review and approve the document. They should be certain it contains all the correct information, including the decisions and desires they have for the distribution of their assets.
You can create a will for your spouse, your parent, another adult, or even your child. Wills for those with special needs or dementia should be created as soon as possible to ensure they understand what they are signing. Wills for children are rare, but a trust is a wise choice for parents who wish to provide for them in the future should the unthinkable occur.
