WILL
-of-
<NAME OF TESTATOR>
I, <Name of Testator>, of <Name of City>, <Name of County>
County, Pennsylvania, declare this to be my will, and I revoke
all other wills and codicils.
I. EXECUTORS
A. I appoint my husband/wife, _______________, to serve
as the executor of my estate. If my husband/wife should fail or
cease to serve, I appoint _______________ and _______________ to
serve together as the executors of my estate.
B. No executor shall be required to file bond or enter
security in any jurisdiction.
II. PERSONAL EFFECTS
I give all of my jewelry, clothing, books, photographs,
furniture and furnishings, appliances, and other personal and
household items, together with all policies insuring those items,
to my husband/wife, ________________, if he/she survives me by
thirty days. If my husband/wife does not so survive me, I give
all those items to those of my children who survive me by thirty
days, to be divided between or among them as they may agree.
III. RESIDUARY ESTATE
I give all the rest of my estate to my husband/wife,
______________, if he/she survives me by thirty days. If my
husband/wife does not so survive me, I give all the rest of my
estate to my children, in equal shares. However, the share of
each child of mine who does not survive me by thirty days shall
be distributed to his or her issue who survive me by thirty days,
those issue to take per stirpes, or, if there is no such issue,
the deceased child's share shall be divided among my other
children and distributed to them (or their issue).
IV. MINOR OR DISABLED BENEFICIARIES
A. I appoint as guardians of all property which is owned
by a minor or passes to a minor and for which the law permits me
to appoint a guardian by my will, regardless of whether the minor
acquires the property under my will or in some other way, the
same persons I have appointed as executors. The guardians may
use the principal as well as the income of the property for the
minor's health, maintenance, support, and education, as the
guardians, in their sole discretion, from time to time consider
advisable. No guardian shall be required to file bond or enter
security in any jurisdiction and, whenever appropriate, the
provisions of my will which apply to my executors shall also
apply to my guardians, including (but not limited to) the
provisions for management powers.
B. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraph or any other
provision of my will, whenever my executors are authorized or
directed to distribute any income or principal to any
beneficiary who is less than twenty-one years of age, has been
declared incompetent by a court, or is considered by my
executors, in their discretion, to be unable to manage his or
her own financial affairs:
1. My executors may apply the income or principal
directly for the purposes expressed or, if no purposes are
expressed, for the health, maintenance, support, education, or
other expenses of the beneficiary, by direct payment of expenses
or by distribution to any person caring for the beneficiary,
without the approval of any court or any guardian or other
fiduciary, and without any liability for those applications.
2. My executors need not distribute any income or
principal to the beneficiary, or to any guardian or other
representative of the beneficiary, but may retain the income or
principal in a separate trust for the beneficiary and distribute
or apply as much of the income and principal as my executors, in
their sole discretion, from time to time consider advisable for
the health, maintenance, support, education, or other expenses
of the beneficiary, without the approval of any court or any
guardian or other fiduciary, and without any liability for those
applications. The undistributed balance of income and principal
shall be distributed to the beneficiary when the reason for
withholding the income and principal ends, or to the personal
representatives of the beneficiary's estate upon the death of
the beneficiary.
3. My executors may distribute the income or
principal to any individual, bank, or trust company (including
any of my executors) appointed by my executors as a custodian
for the beneficiary under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act if
the beneficiary is less than twenty-one years of age and the
appointment and distribution are permitted by law.
V. PROTECTIVE PROVISION
Until actual distribution to a beneficiary, no income or
principal, or any interest in any income or principal, may be
sold, assigned, pledged, or otherwise disposed of in any way by
the beneficiary, and no income or principal shall be subject to
any attachment or other interference by any legal or equitable
procedure.
VI. TAXES
My executors shall pay from my residuary estate all death
taxes payable by reason of my death with respect to all property
and interests passing under my will. To the fullest extent
allowable by law or any governing instrument, my executors shall
recover from any property or interest passing outside of my will
all other death taxes which my executors may be required to pay
by reason of my death.
VII. POWERS OF EXECUTORS
In addition to the powers given to them by law or by other
provisions of my will, my executors shall have the following
powers, which they may exercise as often as they consider
advisable, and until final distribution, without having to seek
or obtain approval from any court:
A. To retain any property comprising a part of my estate,
and to retain and to invest in all forms of real and personal
property, regardless of (1) any limitations imposed by law on
investments by executors, (2) any principle of law concerning
delegation of investment responsibility, and (3) any principle
of law concerning investment diversification.
B. To sell at public or private sale, to grant options
on, to exchange, or otherwise to dispose of any property.
C. To repair, alter, subdivide, or improve any property.
D. To compromise, or submit to arbitration, any claims,
including any arising as a result of my death.
E. To renew, or to extend the time for the debtor to pay,
any obligation.
F. To pay the cost of perpetual care of my gravesite as
an expense of my estate.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand on ,
19 .
______________________________
<Name of Testator>
In our presence, <Name of Testator> signed this instrument and
declared it to be his/her will, and we, at his/her request, in
his/her presence, and in the presence of each other, have signed
it as witnesses.
______________________________ ______________________________
Name Address
______________________________ ______________________________
Name Address
================================================================
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA :
: SS.
COUNTY OF :
I, <Name of Testator>, the testator, whose name is signed to
the attached or foregoing instrument, having been duly qualified
according to law, do hereby acknowledge that I signed and
executed the instrument as my last will; that I signed it
willingly; and that I signed it as my free and voluntary act for
the purposes therein expressed.
______________________________
<Name of Testator>
Sworn or affirmed to and acknowledged before me by
<Name of Testator>, the testator, this day of ,
19 .
(SEAL) ______________________________
Notary Public
================================================================
AFFIDAVIT
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA :
: SS.
COUNTY OF :
We, and , the
witnesses whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing
instrument, being duly qualified according to law, do depose and
say that we were present and saw the testator sign and execute
the instrument as his/her last will; that he/she signed willingly
and that he/she executed it as his/her free and voluntary act for
the purposes therein expressed; that each of us in the hearing
and sight of the testator signed the will as witnesses; and that
to the best of our knowledge the testator was at the time 18 or
more years of age, of sound mind and under no constraint or
undue influence.
______________________________
Witness
______________________________
Witness
Sworn or affirmed to and subscribed to before me by
and , witnesses,
this day of , 19 .
(SEAL) ______________________________
Notary Public
Notes: This is an example of a simple will that might be suitable for a Pennsylvania resident with a very small estate, and who is married with adult children. (There is no tax planning, and no trusts for minor children, although there are protective provisions for property unintentionally passing to minor grandchildren.) This will is not suitable for someone with minor children, because there are no provisions for guardians or trustees for the children.
Gender choices ("his/her") are shown with slashes, and only one of the two words would appear in a real will.
The last two pages are "self-proving" affidavits which are not necessary to the validity of the will, but can make it easier to probate ("prove") the will after death.
Evans Law Office
Daniel B. Evans, Attorney
at Law
P.O. Box 27370
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Telephone:
(866) 348-4250
Email: dan@evans-legal.com
Copyright 1996 Daniel B. Evans. All rights reserved. Not legal advice.