A will, also known as a last will and testament, is a written legal document by which a person, called the testator, provides for the transfer of his or her property at death and provides for one or more persons to effectuate the transfer as executors or personal representatives.
The most common estate planning tool is the simple will. A will is a written statement which contains a person’s directions as to how to distribute all of his or her property including real estate, tangible personal property (such as a car or jewelry) and intangible personal property (such as bank accounts, savings plans and stocks). It can be very simple or complex, depending on a number of factors, including the size of a person’s estate, his or her marital estate, and whether the person has children.
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