Do You Really Need a Will? Here’s How to Tell.
Most people assume a Will is the first step in estate planning.
But a Will doesn’t control everything you own; and in some cases, you might decide you don’t even need one.
When I practiced as an estate attorney, one of the questions I got more than any other was,
“Do I need a Will?”
And my answer was always the same:
“I don’t know — not yet.”
Because before you can decide whether you need a Will, you have to understand what a Will actually does.
What a Will Really Does (and Doesn’t) Control
A Will, or “Last Will and Testament,” directs what happens to your probate assets when you die.
That’s it.
It doesn’t override contracts, joint ownerships, or beneficiary designations.
Here’s how your assets typically transfer at death:
By contract: things like life insurance, retirement accounts, or anything with a beneficiary form or payable-on-death designation.
By operation of law: things you own jointly with survivorship rights, like a home owned with your spouse.
By Will (or Trust): everything else that doesn’t fit into those first two categories.
A Will only controls probate assets. Everything else has its own rulebook.
An Example from My Own Life
When my husband and I bought our new house here in Michigan, I reviewed every line of our deed.
Even though Michigan law automatically gives married couples something called tenancy by the entirety, meaning the survivor automatically owns the property, I still had the deed updated to explicitly state we were married.
Why?
Because just because something is legally true doesn’t mean proving it, especially as spouses with different last names, won’t cause a headache later.
I wanted to be kind to my future self (or to my husband’s future self, depending on who survives the other) and make sure there wouldn’t be extra paperwork after one of us dies.
That’s what estate planning really is: making things easier for the people you love.
When a Will Matters Most
Not everything passes by operation of law or by contract.
Some things, like my mother’s antique ring that my dad gave me after she died, are probate assets.
There’s no beneficiary form. No joint ownership.
So my Will is what determines who gets it.
What Happens If You Don’t Have a Will
If you die without a Will, you don’t get a say in who gets what.
Each state has its own “default settings” for inheritance, known as intestate succession.
And those laws don’t always line up with what you’d want.
In Tennessee, for example, if I died without a Will, my husband would get one-third of my probate estate, and our two kids would each get one-third.
That means your minor kids could now own part of your house.
That’s expensive, messy, and entirely preventable.
In Michigan, where I live now, it’s different again.
Let’s assume that I don’t have kids. If I died without a Will and both my husband and my dad were living, my husband would get the first $150,000 plus three-quarters of my probate estate and my dad would get the other quarter.
That’s not exactly intuitive.
Three Reasons You Might Actually Need a Will
You’re married. You might assume everything goes to your spouse, but in most states, that’s not automatic.
You have minor children. A Will lets you name a guardian and decide who manages your kids’ inheritance.
You want to make things easier. Even a simple Will can prevent confusion, delays, and family conflict.
And If You Don’t Have a Will…
You can still do a lot of good planning.
Even without a Will, I recommend:
Getting your asset information organized. Make it easy for your loved ones to find what they need. Start with this financial information spreadsheet.
Signing a healthcare proxy and advance directive. They’re free, and they make medical decision-making much less stressful for your family. Get your state-specific form here and document your medical situation with this medical information sheet.
Filling out a personal information sheet. Your passwords, contacts, and account info are useless if no one knows where to find them.
So… Do You Need a Will?
I don’t know.
But now you have the tools to figure that out for yourself.
And that’s the whole point.
Listen to the episode here:
