Don’t Write Your Own Will

For example, people often leave their estate first to the spouse and then to the children. If a husband and wife have Wills that are mirror images, known as reciprocal Wills, they accomplish the goals of leaving everything first to each other and then to the children. We recommend that people consider using the phrase “per stirpes”. “Per stirpes” simply means that in the event a child dies before a parent and if that child had children, then those (grand) children would get what their parent would have received and no more or less.