Free Legal Will Form
Combined Structure For Husband and Wife

Here are a few good points to note when using a free legal will form (or any other for that matter); regarding combined structural content for spouses.

When a husband and wife are creating a Will that leaves their joint property to the surviving spouse and then their children, it's suggested that individual Wills be prepared for each spouse.

While some attorneys and Will authors create a single Will document for both husband and wife (often referred to as a "Combined Will" or "Reciprocal Will"), we find that the individual Last Will and Testament structure offers a better legal option.

With a Combined Will, when one spouse dies, the original Will must be submitted to the probate court. When that happens, the information contained in the Will is often made available to the public for inspection and review, which can create privacy issues for the entire family.

Further, the fact that the original Will is submitted to the probate court can create new issues should the other spouse die while the first estate is still being probated.

Obtaining a copy of the original Combined Will for filing with the probate court for the "second to die" spouse could create difficulties, especially if the "second to die" spouse has moved his or her home to a jurisdiction different from the location where the first spouse's Will is being probated.

Given these scenarios, utilizing separate, individual Wills for each spouse is preferred. The Will for each spouse can be written to mirror each other, so that the first spouse to die leaves his or her property to the surviving spouse and then to children, if any.

These separate and individual Wills accomplish the same goal as the Combined Will while eliminating a variety of probate issues. It's for these reasons that legal will providers often issue individual Wills for all family members through easy online software and document preparation packages.

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