It Matters In A Small Town

                         This guest post is by Alyssa Juncker Dahl, Regent Law 3L, and current Wills, Trusts, and Estates student:

 

*Meet Oats, just born on Monday.*

I grew up in a small farming community in the southernmost tip of Indiana where the roads are lined with corn, soybeans, and rolling hills. Land renting contracts are typically verbal handshake agreements and you trust someone to keep their word. So, do the “rigid rules” truly matter in a small town?

My papaw has stage IV prostate cancer and currently does not have a will. A few years ago, my nana attempted to have a will written but was told by the attorney that it was unnecessary until her husband passed away. When my mom mentioned this to me last month, I was astonished. How could an attorney refuse to write a will and off-handedly seem to advocate for intestacy. Intestacy refers to a person who has died without a will and the state statute will determine how the person’s estate will be divided. Testacy refers to a person who has died with a will. This supports arguably the most important aspect of writing a will: the freedom of disposition. The testator is able to determine how they want to devise their estate and to whom they wish to devise it to.

After explaining these concepts to my mom, she said, “But this is a small town Alyssa. After death, the whole estate just naturally goes to the spouse.” According to Indiana Code Title 29. Probate § 29-1-2-1(b)(1), if you die intestate, then your spouse will receive 50% of the estate and your children will receive 50%. Though it may seem “natural” for nana to receive papaw’s estate once he passes away, that is not supported by the intestacy statute.

It is a blessing to study the law and to explain the importance of estate planning before death to my family. It truly does matter – even in a small town.