In your will, you can identify where your property goes upon your passing.  You can be specific as to which assets passes to which beneficiary.  For example, “I want my house on Main Street to go to my brother, Steve”.  You can also be general as in “The remainder of my estate shall be distributed equally to my two children”.  You can create second levels of beneficiary such as “I want my Procter and Gamble stock to go to my sister, Betty if living and if not to my nephew, Tom”.

The executor named in a will is the person or entity that will conduct business on behalf of your estate.  They are appointed by the Probate Court and will have legal authority to sell you assets, pay your bills, file your taxes, and to make distributions as indicated in your will.  The executor can be a person like your spouse, child, or brother.  The executor can also be a bank or Trust company.  The executor has a fiduciary duty to follow the terms of your will and Probate Court supervises the process.

The guardian named in your will becomes responsible for your children who are under the age of 18.  The guardian exercises parental control and has the same parental power as if they were in fact the parent.  In Ohio you may name a parent, sibling, or friend not related to you or the child.  Ohio allows out of state guardians to be appointed.

A basic estate plan can include one or more of the following legal documents:

• Last Will and Testament
• Power of Attorney
• Power of Attorney for Health Care
• Living Will
• Revocable Living Trust

Each of these documents is described in more detail in the next five questions.