Preparation of Wills and Trusts

We help clients plan for the management and distribution of their assets through wills and trusts.

For more information concerning our estate and trust services, call an experienced Ball Eggleston lawyer for personal consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Who may make a will?

    In most cases, a person must be at least 18 years old. A person also must be of sound mind at the time the will is executed.

  • What happens to my property if I die without a will?

    If you die without a will, state statutes determine who your heirs will be and what percent of your estate they will inherit based upon their relationship to you. If you have no surviving relative on this statutory list of heirs, your estate goes to the state. The definition of "heir" varies from state to state. Leaving your property by a will allows you to determine who your beneficiaries will be and what amount each will receive without regard to their relationship to you.

  • Does a will have to be in writing?

    With very rare and limited exceptions, a will in Indiana must be in writing. Videotaping the person making the will may be done for other reasons, such as showing that the person is competent and is not subject to undue influence of another, but the will itself must be in writing to be valid in Indiana.

  • Does the will need to be notarized?

    Wills are not notarized in Indiana. However, they must be properly witnessed to be valid.

  • May I change my will?

    A will may be changed as long as the person making the will is still competent and as long as the changes are witnessed with the same formality as the original will. A list that designates certain personal property that is to pass to certain people may be changed less formally, but it must first be properly incorporated into the will.

  • May I "disinherit" my spouse? My children?

    Indiana law makes it very difficult to leave nothing to your spouse at your death unless the surviving spouse consents. Generally, if the spouses agree to an arrangement where they leave each nothing in their wills, they may enter into special prenuptial or postnuptial agreements in addition to
    executing wills. You may, however, with proper wording, leave nothing to your children, even if they do not agree with that decision.

  • How do I know if I need a trust?

    There are many different reasons that people decide to have trusts. A trustee can manage your property if you become incapable or just don't want to do it anymore. A trustee can manage property after you die for a beneficiary who is not competent, either because the beneficiary is a minor or because the beneficiary is mentally incompetent, or because the person is just not good with managing money. A trust can make it easier to transfer property at your death, especially if you own real estate in a state in which you do not reside. In some situations, a properly worded trust can take advantage of tax laws to lessen the tax burden at your death.

  • May I change my trust?

    The language of the trust determines whether or not it may be changed. "Revocable" trusts may be altered. "Irrevocable" trusts may not be changed.

  • Should I have a trust instead of a will?

    People who have trusts almost always have a will as well. The will passes any property that was not owned by the trust at your death into the trust so it can be managed or distributed as your trust directs.

  • Do I need a lawyer to write a trust?

    It is possible to write a valid trust using forms you find in a book or on the internet. Most people find the language employed in trusts tedious and difficult to understand. A lawyer can help you decide what provisions you need and make sure the trust works in the way you want it to work.