The “People Power” Disability-Serious Illness-Senior Citizen Superbook: Book 10. Senior Citizens Guide 2 (Money, Housing, Products)

At least half of all American people will die without leaving a will. The way the system is set up makes it a bad move for the heirs if you don't have one. Even if you're poor, you could suddenly get struck down in an accident and leave heirs to the positive end of a large wrongful death lawsuit. If you don't leave a will, your estate goes to what's called Intestate. They will try to divvy it up to your relatives but if they can't find them, the property goes to the state. If you die without a will, the state determines who gets custody of your children under 18. The first thing to do is to sit down, take an inventory of everything you own and put a dollar value on it. This is called your estate and includes: Residence. Real estate. Business personal property including partnership interests, copyrights, patents, trademarks, stock options, etc. Vehicles, boats, etc. Bank accounts and CDs. Investments; Stocks, mutual funds and bonds.