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Making a Last Will and Testament in Mississippi: What to do and things to keep in mind

Having a Will helps you ensure that your property will be distributed in accordance with your preferences after your passing. It gives you control over the details of your estate and lessens the load on your loved ones during such a hard time.

Why should you have a Will?

Some believe that only extremely affluent individuals or those with complex holdings require Wills. However, there are lots of justifications for having a Will.

  • You can specify exactly who will receive your assets. Who gets what and how much is up to you.
  • You can prevent persons you don't want to have access to your assets from obtaining them.
  • You can decide who should look after your kids. Courts will make decisions if there is no Will.
  • Your assets will be made accessible to your heirs more quickly and easily.
  • You can make plans to reduce the tax burden on your estate.
  • You can give gifts and grants to charities, which might reduce your estate tax liability.

Intestate laws in Mississippi

If you pass away without a Will, Mississippi last Will and testament laws decide how your estate will be divided, maybe in a way you would not be comfortable with. You won't be able to control what happens to your possessions after you pass away if you don't have a valid last Will and testament in Mississippi. Intestate means that there is no Will or a Will that is valid, according to Mississippi inheritance laws. In order to decide who inherits your property and how much they will get, the court will then apply the intestate succession statutes.

Whether or not you have children or other descendants, as well as how many of them you have, will determine how much your spouse inherits if you die intestate. Your spouse receives everything if you are childless or without descendants.

If you pass away without a partner and have children, they will receive everything. If you have just one child, when you pass away, your spouse will receive half of your fortune, while your child will receive the other half.

Your surviving spouse and children will each receive an equal share of your intestate property if you have two or more children. Your children must be your legal children in order for them to inherit under Mississippi's intestate laws. Children who are legally adopted are equally entitled to their part of an intestate estate as biological children.

Your closest living relatives inherit your property if you pass away without a spouse or children.

In the absence of a Will or if you fail to designate an executor in your Will, the court will choose someone to manage closing out your estate.

It's important to avoid putting your loved ones through that kind of stress, if at all possible. A lawyer or financial advisor that focuses on legacy planning can be consulted if you're unsure of the type of estate plan you wish to create.

Mississippi Will requirements

Making a Will in Mississippi requires two prerequisites: the maker must be at least 18 years old and must be of sound and disposing mind. You must have a properly executed written last Will and testament in Mississippi and make it with the intention that the document will serve as your Will.

Three criteria make up the sound and disposing mind test:

  • The act of making a Will is recognized and appreciated by the maker.
  • The maker is aware of who or what will be receiving the property.
  • The maker is able to choose how he wants to distribute the property.

All personal properties that you own at the time you make the Will or that you own at the time of your death may be distributed according to Mississippi law after your death.

Generally speaking, you must write your Will on paper. It must be on actual paper and not contained in digital audio, video, or any other file. You have the option of utilizing a typewriter or a computer to create and print your Will. Handwritten Wills are legal in Mississippi, but they are generally not a smart idea.

Mississippi last Will and testament laws also permit nuncupative or verbal Wills under extremely specific conditions. A spoken Will may be made if it is made during the illness that caused your death or where you were present for ten days prior to your passing.

Your Will needs to be seen by two people and signed within six months of when you pass away for it to be legally binding. Those who serve in the armed forces or who work as seafarers at sea are exempt from Mississippi's Will-writing regulations.

What should you include while writing a last Will and testament in Mississippi?

When making a last Will and testament with the help of a lawyer, you should include the following:

Personal details

You must include some basic information about yourself in your Will. Your full name, birthdate, and address are included in this. Consider including any aliases you may have. The papers should also list the names of your immediate family.

Your assets and your properties

Your assets are comprehensively covered by a Will, which assists in ensuring that they pass to the proper beneficiaries upon your passing. A Will can coexist alongside a trust; however, some things cannot be placed in a trust.

As a result, you need to establish a Will and make sure the right things are given to the people you want. People frequently divide up their property, possessions, real estate, and money to be bequeathed to different recipients.

If no attention to detail is required, it is possible to give everything to one person.

Your beneficiaries

Once all the assets and property you wish to transfer have been mentioned, the beneficiaries—the people to whom the assets should be given—must also be listed. You can name a corporation or charity as the beneficiary of your Will rather than a specific person in addition to family and friends.

It might be a good idea to designate contingent beneficiaries in case the principal beneficiary passes away before you do.

Naming an executor

You'll need to designate an executor to handle a variety of responsibilities following your passing. This entails managing other matters, such as paying bills and taxes, as well as carrying out the provisions of the Will. If an executor hasn't been named, the court might have to do it for you, or someone would need to apply for it.

Naming a guardian for your children or an elderly adult

If you have little children, you can choose someone to take care of them if you and your spouse unexpectedly pass away. This also holds true if you are taking care of an older or disabled adult.

Signatures

You must sign the Will in front of two witnesses in addition to yourself. A handwritten Will may not always require witness signatures, but it is always preferable to have it professionally drafted and filed.

Does a last Will and testament in Mississippi need to be notarized?

Your Will needs to be notarized, without a doubt. A Will in Mississippi is considered "self-proved" if it satisfies specific criteria, including being properly notarized. The testimony of the Will's witnesses is not required for a self-proved Will to be admitted to probate court.

When a non-self-proving Will is presented to the probate court, the court will need witness evidence or other documentation to confirm that the Will is what it claims to be.

A "self-proving affidavit" must be signed in front of a notary public by the witnesses for a Will to be considered self-proven in Mississippi. Sworn statements are known as affidavits. A declaration in court is comparable to an affidavit presented to a notary public. Affidavits that claim a Will was properly executed are therefore equivalent to in-court testimony, and the witnesses are not required to appear when the Will is admitted to court.

Finding witnesses and getting them to court by the time a Will is filed with a court can be challenging, not to mention expensive. Making your Will self-proving will therefore assist your loved ones in avoiding this headache.

How does probate work in Mississippi?

The process of distributing an estate and paying off any outstanding obligations is known as probate. It is crucial to comprehend how this legal procedure functions and what the prerequisites are because it can be quite complex.

In Mississippi, probate is typically necessary. Probate may be less formal for small estates and may not even be required in some circumstances. To disperse the estate's assets and give ownership to the heirs, however, probate is typically required.

How do you avoid probate in Mississippi?

Planning ahead is necessary for avoiding probate in Mississippi. A few actions can be taken to guarantee that the assets of an estate pass to the heir without requiring probate. The easiest approach to avoid probate is to create a revocable living trust that can hold all of the assets. The estate belongs to the designated heir of the estate after the person passes away.

Additionally, you can specify beneficiaries for every asset, including checking accounts and life insurance policies.

How long does it take to complete the probate process in Mississippi?

There isn't a set timeframe for probate. Based on a number of variables, the duration from the start of probate and closing can vary greatly. For instance, because it takes time to inventory everything, the size of the estate will affect how long it will take to finish probate. The procedure will be prolonged if the Will is contested or if other delays arise.

However, given that creditors have ninety days to file claims against the estate, it will take at least three to four months.

Do all estates require probate?

While the majority of estates will go through the traditional probate process, some can skip it with a straightforward affidavit for minor estates. The heir may produce a document proving their ownership of the asset to the entity holding it if the estate's value falls below a specific threshold. Additionally, a copy of the death certificate must be provided.

According to Mississippi probate law, the estate's value should be below $50,000 in order to be eligible for this option. A different choice is muniment of title, which permits the transfer of real estate without going through probate as long as the decedent's other personal assets total less than $10,000. The judge issues an order that replaces the title transfer deed.

How long do your loved ones have to file for probate?

Within forty days of the decedent's passing, the Will's owner must present it to the court. The court has the authority to order the owner of the Will to deliver it in accordance with Mississippi Code Title 91 Chapter 7 Section 5.

How to change or revoke a last Will and testament in Mississippi?

You can change, modify, or entirely revoke a Will at any time because it doesn't take effect until after your death. There are two ways to alter or revoke a Will under Mississippi last Will and testament laws: express revocation and implied revocation.

A Will may be expressly revoked through physical action or by creating a new Will. Physical revocation refers to the deliberate act of dismantling, canceling, or erasing the Will, or you can also have someone else do it in front of you.

Making a formal, documented, and dated statement of revocation followed by the creation of a new Will is the best way to expressly cancel a Will. Alternatively, you can create a codicil, a written document that modifies or supplements a Will that has already been executed.

Implied revocation also takes place according to laws pertaining to it that are in place. For instance, a person drafts a Will before having kids. The law immediately revokes the earlier Will if the person subsequently has children and passes away without making any changes to it. In these cases, state law will determine how to divide the inheritance.

Will someone inherit your debt after you die?

A person's debt does not pass away with them when they pass away. There are restrictions on how it can be paid back. The majority of us leave something behind when we pass away, whether it be a small quantity of money in a bank account, a car, a house, or other assets or possessions. This is called an estate, what we leave behind for our heirs when we pass away.

Debts are paid off prior to the distribution of an estate; therefore, if a creditor seeks payment for a debt owed by a decedent, they may do so while the decedent's estate is being probated.

During the probate procedure, a local court validates the decedent's Will and grants an agent or executor the authority to fairly divide the estate's assets among beneficiaries and creditors. This can result in the relatives of a deceased person receiving nothing at all once all debts have been settled. When an estate is insolvent, both creditors and heirs typically leave with nothing.

Thus, you should definitely consider settling your debt at the earliest.

How to get rid of your debts through debt settlement?

Debt settlement occurs when a creditor consents to accept a sum that is less than what you owe in full. Once the creditor accepts that settlement, they can no longer harass you for the money, and you won't be sued for that specific debt.

In order to settle a debt, you must cooperate with a debt settlement business that bargains with your creditors so that your overall debt can be lowered. If the negotiations are successful, you will be charged a fee by the debt settlement company, which will be based on your total debt amount.

Conclusion

A Will is a legal document that outlines your preferences for the division of your possessions and the care of any minor children. Those wishes might not be honored if you pass away without a Will. Furthermore, it could take more time, money, and emotional effort for your heirs to settle your affairs following your passing.

A last Will and testament in Mississippi can come quite near to resolving all of the issues that may come up after your passing.

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