Smart Changes to Your Will After Your Spouse Passes Away

One of the most important things you can do in life is to create a will for yourself. This, however, becomes a little tricky when spouses are involved. After all, you two will accumulate wealth together throughout your life, and thus you must agree on certain terms once you both pass away. So, what happens when your spouse passes away first? The following includes important information to keep in mind in order to make smart changes to your life will.

What You Can’t Do

One of the most common questions asked after a spouse passes away is if their will can be changed. The answer to that is no. Any personal attorneys or a business planning lawyer in Las Vegas that the spouse may have had on the payroll will take steps to protect the person’s wishes outline within their will.

Early Death and Minors

If you and your spouse have signed up for a joint will, then you will need to make some changes, especially if your children are still minors. When these wills are signed, they are intended to simply transfer estate assets to living relatives. However, life often doesn’t go as intended. Accidents happen, and if your spouse passes away due to illness or an accident, then that can leave some uncertainty. Therefore, it is imperative that you seek your life will and add a couple of names of potential guardians for your children in the event that you pass away while they are still minors.

Adding Charitable Donations to Your Life Will

When a spouse passes away, that means that you are now usually only gathering one source of income. This may not affect you at the moment, but it can certainly diminish how much your family inherits after you pass. A smart thing to do may be to add a few charitable donations to your will. This could help you reduce the amount of taxes your estate will be charged by the state.