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owned by someone on any document. This includes: clothing, furniture, jewelry, computers, appliances, and autos (the exception to the rule), which usually goes to your spouse, if he/she survives you.

If your spouse dies before or within 30 days after you, the estate will go on to your next listed beneficiary, or beneficiaries, usually your children. The state assumes you intended to leave something to each child, if there is more than one. If you wish to disinherit one, you must mention that. Then you decide if the others share equally or proportionately.

Your executor will also make decisions about how to handle your remains: Do you want to be buried or cremated? Do you want to be embalmed? (Not all states require it.) Discuss your personal preferences ahead of time with your executor.

If your state allows you to authorize "informal" or "unsupervised" administration, you can bypass Probate when you transfer certain assets. For example, your executor will have the administrative power to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and transfer the ownership of a car quickly, without the Probate Court getting involved (which could take months).

Everyone should have, at the least, a simple will. It is a thoughtful act of loving duty that we perform for those we leave behind.

Learn more about this author, Karon Brandt.
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