Most people know they're supposed to have a will. Fewer could say exactly what it does once it's signed. They picture a document that says who gets the house, and that's part of it. But a will also does a few things people don't expect, and it leaves out some things people assume it covers.
So what does a will do? In Missouri, a will mainly does three things. It says who receives the property that passes through your estate, it names the person who will handle that estate, and it lets parents say who they'd want raising their minor children. Everything else in this article follows from those three jobs.
A will gives instructions for your estate
The core of a will is a set of instructions about property. You decide who receives it and in what shares. That can be as simple as everything to your spouse, or it can split property among children, grandchildren, friends, or a church.
You can also leave specific items to specific people. The tractor can go to the son who farms. The family Bible can go to the oldest grandchild. A set dollar amount can go to someone who helped you in your last years. A will can also say what happens if a beneficiary dies before you do, so the gift doesn't end up somewhere you never intended.
Those instructions apply to your probate estate, the property that passes through the court process after death. That limit matters, and we'll come back to it.
Someone has to handle the estate
Property doesn't distribute itself. Someone has to gather it, pay final bills and debts, keep records, and hand out what's left according to the will.
Missouri law calls that person the personal representative. Most people say executor, and that's fine. Your will is where you nominate who it should be, and it's a good idea to name a backup in case your first choice can't serve.
Being named in a will doesn't hand someone authority the moment you die. The probate court appoints the personal representative and issues the paperwork that lets them act for the estate. In Missouri, a will generally has to be presented to the probate court and admitted before it has legal effect, and that usually needs to happen within one year of death. Who should fill this role is a bigger question, and it's worth its own conversation.
What about minor children?
For parents, this is often the most important part of a will. If you have children under 18, your will is where you name the person you'd want to raise them if neither parent is living.
That nomination is a strong statement, but it isn't automatic. A probate court still makes the appointment. Under Missouri law, when both parents have died, the court is directed to appoint the person named in the last surviving parent's will, unless that person is unfit, unwilling, or unable to serve. In practice, a clear nomination carries a lot of weight. Without one, the decision is left to the court with less to go on.
Parents often pair this with a plan for money. A guardian raises the child, but a young child can't receive and manage an inheritance directly. How that money is held is something to think through at the same time.
A will doesn't necessarily control everything you own
This surprises a lot of people. Some of your most valuable property may never pass under your will at all.
Life insurance and retirement accounts usually go to whoever is named as beneficiary on the account, regardless of what the will says. Bank accounts with a payable-on-death designation work the same way. Property you own jointly with someone else, with survivorship rights, usually passes straight to the surviving owner. Property held in a trust passes under the trust's terms.
That means your will and your beneficiary designations can point in different directions. If your will leaves everything to your children equally but an old life insurance form still names your former spouse, the insurance usually follows the form. Part of putting a will together is looking at how your property is actually titled and who's listed on your accounts, so the pieces line up.
Does having a will avoid probate?
No. This is one of the most common misunderstandings about wills.
A will tells the probate court what to do with the property that goes through probate. It doesn't keep property out of probate. In fact, a will generally has to go through probate court to take effect at all.
Some property avoids probate for other reasons, such as the beneficiary designations and joint ownership described above, or a trust that was properly funded during your lifetime. Some smaller estates can use a simpler procedure. If keeping certain property out of probate matters to you, that's usually a reason to look beyond a will alone. Our page on probate administration explains what the process involves.
A will is only one part of an estate plan
A will only takes effect after death. It doesn't do anything for you while you're alive.
If you're in the hospital and can't manage your own finances, your will doesn't let anyone pay your bills. A power of attorney does that. If you want property managed for a beneficiary over time, or kept out of probate, a trust may be part of the answer. A trust and a will work differently and often work together, which is a topic of its own.
For business owners and families with farmland, there's often another layer. Who takes over the business, or how land stays in the family, may depend as much on ownership agreements and business succession planning as on the will itself.
Taken together, those documents make up an estate plan. For some people, a will and a power of attorney are enough. Others need more.
When should you review your will?
A will is written for your life as it is when you sign it. When your life changes, the will may not keep up.
Marriage, divorce, a new child, buying or selling significant property, starting a business, or the death of someone you named are all good reasons to take another look. Divorce is worth singling out. Under Missouri law, a divorce automatically cancels the parts of your will that benefit your former spouse, but the rest of the document stays in place and may no longer make sense.
If you can't remember the last time you read your will, that's a reason on its own.
Talking it through
You don't need to know which documents you need before you sit down with an attorney. Most people come in with a question about their family or their property, not a list of documents. Sorting out whether a will is enough, or whether a trust or power of attorney belongs alongside it, is part of the process.
Estate and succession planning is an important part of Michael Yenzer's practice at Schmanke Law Firm. If you'd like to create a will or review one you already have, the firm meets with clients at its offices in Union and Owensville.
