Your Will: Getting Started

What Your Will Can Do
Why do you need a will? Because it allows you to:

• Direct the division of your property the way you choose—not the way the state decides.
• Make special financial arrangements for your family members who are minors, disabled or unfamiliar with money management.
• Name a guardian for your minor children.
• Select an executor (personal representative) who is well-qualified to settle your estate promptly and economically, with careful attention to your wishes.
• Provide vital support for your favorite charitable institutions. Learn more about making a gift to us through your will.
• Devise an estate plan, with the help of a qualified attorney and other advisors, to minimize the taxes on your estate.

You Need a Will
Everyone needs a will, no matter if he or she is young or old, sick or healthy, single or married.

If you leave this world without a will, your assets will be distributed according to state law and your wishes will not be fulfilled. Likewise, having an outdated will also means that your current intentions will not be carried out. So when change occurs in your life, remember to update your will.

	Learn more about basic estate planning.

Sample bequest language is available here.

Contact your estate planning attorney for more information on wills. To learn how to include a gift to PETA in your will, please contact Tim Enstice at 757-962-8213 or plannedgiving@peta.org.