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Show Does Your Wife Need a Will? Did you know that you have a will whether you made one or not? Sam Smith, in order to provide emply for his wife after he died, put all of his property in her name. He felt this would also save on inheritance inheri-tance taxes. Unfortunately she died first. She had no will directing dir-ecting how her estate should be distributed, and thus it was distributed according to the state laws of intestacy. That is, the "will" which a state legislates legis-lates for citizens who die without with-out a will. The result was that Sam had to share his property, which was once his own, with her closest relative, a nephew neither of them had seen for years. This is only one instance where a wife as well as her husband should have had a will. Although it is usually the husband hus-band who dies first, a common disaster could bring about dire results affecting the lives of surviving loved ones. Once a widower with small children married a second time and named his new wife the beneficiary of his estate, knowing know-ing that she would take care of his children. Later they both were involved in an automobile accident in which she survived him for a few hours, and thus inherited his estate. When she died without a will, her estate according to the state law of intestacy - went to her relatives. rela-tives. His children received nothing. Thus we see that legislative enactments alone may cause severe problems in seemingly ordinary situations. It does not' take into account or provide for the special needs of any person, no matter how needy or handicapped. handi-capped. If a person does not leave a valid will, the law, which is general in its nature, is calculated to serve the average aver-age property owner's needs as to the disposition of his property proper-ty at his death and very seldom exactly fits particular desires or needs. There are three main reasons for a person to have a will: 1. To direct the disposition of his property according to his wishes. 2. To designate a qualified executor for the estate and an appropriate guardian for minor children. 3. To conserve the estate and minimize taxes. The Law The law gives every property owner the privilege of disposing dispos-ing of his property by will in the way he thinks will be for the best interests of everyone concerned. Without a will the state intestacy laws, as seen above, take over and divide the estate according to a prearranged prear-ranged schedule. Lack of a Will Where there is no will the court is required to appoint an individual to settle the estate. This person may be a surviving wife, adult child, or some other person, whether properly qualified quali-fied or not. There is no certainty certain-ty whatever as to whom the court can or will appoint. A proper will allows a person to designate or appoint the executor execu-tor who is usually better qualified. quali-fied. A will may also provide special provisions for payment of funeral expenses, claims against the estate, taxes, and other costs to property, as well as final distribution of the property. Under present-day conditions the settlement of an estate is the work of a specialist. specia-list. Thus the selection of an executor should be an experienced exper-ienced individual, a bank, or a trust company. Estate Taxes Federal estate taxes and state inheritance taxes now are so high that unless a property owner utilizes a will or a trust to plan his estate and take advantage of tax savings permitted per-mitted by law, a large part of his estate may be consumed in taxes. If a person's taxable estate es-tate is over $M,(X)0, the taxes on the excess range from thn'o percent to 61 percent depending depend-ing on the tax bracket for the excess. For example, if a man leaves his estate outright to his wife and then she leaves it outright to their children, there may be two taxes on the same property - one at his death and another at hers. Whereas, if he leaves AMERICAN FORK CITIZEN THURSDAY, JUNE 24. 1976 WINNERS - Max Hunsaker of Holley Auto, and Mr. and Mrs. Korl Hansen, and small daughter, discuss vacation trip for two won by the Hansens. The trip was awarded by Holley Auto and includes three days and two nights in Las Vegas. his estate in trust for his wife, for life, the rest with the principal princi-pal to go to their children at her death, there may be only one estate tax which is paid upon the husband's death. There are' many legal methods meth-ods for tax savings and estate planning through your will and through trusts. Consulting your bank trust officer or your attor ney may be the best investment in time you could make. 1ht Old ImVL WORK PROGRESSES on the U P. Railroad crossing in American Fork. 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