• A will allows you to choose how you want to distribute your property after you die.

Property

• If you have young children you can also use your will to select a guardian who will care for them should you die.

Guardians

• You can also nominate the person who will manage your estate through the probate process.

Estate Administrator

In Writing

You must make the will

in writing

Signed by the

Testator

You have to sign the

documents.

Witnessed

You have to have two

other people sign the will

as witnesses.

Handwritten Wills

Oral Wills

Handwritten Wills

• Also known as holographic wills, these are allowed for in a minority of states. Handwritten wills are made entirely in the testator’s handwriting.

Oral Wills

• Missouri actually allows for oral wills, also called nuncapative wills, but only under very limited circumstances. In practice, almost no one uses this type will.

Age

• Anyone aged 18 or older can make a will in Missouri. You can also make a will if you are legally emancipated or an active duty military member under the age of 18.

Sound Mind

• You can only make a will if you are a sound mind. This means you are able to reason and make decisions on your own. If you are, for example, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or another medical condition that robs you of your cognitive abilities, you may or may not be of sound mind.

• Your will should include the name of the person you choose to manage your property after you die. The probate process is a legal process that governs wills and the distribution of estate property. The estate representative, also called an executor or personal representative, represents the estate during this legal process.

Estate Representative

• Parents with minor children should name a guardian in their wills. The guardian will take care of your children should you die while they are still young.

Guardian

• Even if you have never made a will before, your will should include a clause that clearly revokes any prior documents so the court can be sure the will represents your last wishes.

Revocation

• If you and your spouse should die at the same time you will want a clause in your will that addresses simultaneous death. This will avoid the necessity of your property having to go through two probate processes.

Survivorship

Spouses

• You cannot completely disinherit a spouse in Missouri. Missouri laws provide your spouse with the legal right to inherit at least a portion of your property.

Minor Children

• Like your spouse, you also cannot completely disinherit minor children, though you can disinherit adult children.

New Will

• You can create a new will and revoke the old one by including a revocation clause in the new one.

Codicil

• If you want to make minor changes you can create a codicil, a separate legal document that must meet the same requirements as a will but which modifies some of the will’s terms.

• Living wills and health care powers of attorney will ensure that your medical wishes will be honored if you ever become deathly ill or otherwise incapacitated.

Medical Directives

• A financial power of attorney will give someone the ability to manage your finances in the event you are unable to do so.

Powers of Attorney

• There are a variety of trusts you can use to both eliminate the need for your estate to go through probate and to provide yourself and your family with significant financial and tax benefits.

Trusts