As you help your aging parents with their estate plans, you may wonder if they both need a will or if they should get a joint one, especially if they agree on the distribution of their assets. Even if they have the same desires, they should have their own wills.
The purpose of a will is to determine what will happen to property after a person dies. It may also include funeral wishes, guardianships and other related matters. Although it is possible to put these all into one document, it is much easier to update, put through probate and enforce an individual will than a joint one. Once one spouse dies, the other cannot make changes to it. Therefore, it is in your parents’ best interests to make separate wills.
