We Don’t Have Much. Do We Still Need a Will?

Four in ten Americans say they do not have a will because they do not have enough assets to leave anyone, according to Caring.com’s 2024 Wills and Estate Planning Study. It is the second most common reason people give for not planning, right behind procrastination. It is also the reason most likely to leave a family in a difficult situation, because a will is not primarily about how much you have. It is about who gets to decide what happens to it, who raises your children, and who speaks for you when you cannot speak for yourself.

You do not need a lot to need a will. You need people you care about.

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What Most People Think a Will Is For

The word “estate” is part of the problem. It conjures images of mansions, investment portfolios, and family trusts. People hear “estate planning” and picture something that applies to other people, people with more, people who inherited money, people on a different financial level entirely.

But your estate is just a legal term for everything you own at the time you die. A car. A bank account. A security deposit on an apartment. A guitar. A phone. Clothes. Tools. A dog. Whatever you own, wherever it is, however much or little it is worth, that is your estate. And without a will, you have no say in what happens to any of it.

A will is not a document for rich people. It is a document for people who have opinions about what happens after they are gone. That is most people.

What a Will Does That Has Nothing to Do With Money

The most important things a will does are not about distributing wealth. They are about making decisions that matter deeply to families and that no one else can make for you once you are gone.

It names a guardian for your children. If you have minor children and there is no surviving parent able to care for them, a court will determine who should serve as guardian based on the child’s best interests. A will is the only legal document that lets you nominate the person you trust to raise your kids. It does not guarantee the court will appoint them, but the nomination is given significant weight and is almost always followed when the nominated person is willing and fit. Without it, the court has nothing from you to consider.

It names an executor. An executor is the person responsible for settling your estate: collecting your belongings, paying your debts, closing your accounts, and distributing what remains. Without a will, the court appoints an administrator, usually the closest next of kin, who may or may not be the right person for the job. That person may have to post a surety bond depending on circumstances, adding cost to an already difficult process. A will lets you choose someone you trust and tell them what you want.

It says who gets specific things. Not everything in a will is about money. People fight over the guitar, the tools, the photos, the grandmother’s ring. According to WealthCounsel, more than 35 percent of adults in the United States say they or someone they know experienced family conflict because an estate plan or will was not in place. Those conflicts are not always about large inheritances. They are often about small things with big emotional weight. A will lets you be specific. “I leave my tools to my brother.” “I leave my record collection to my daughter.” “I leave $500 to my friend who helped me when I needed it.” None of those require significant assets. They just require a document that says what you meant.

It protects people the law does not recognize. A long-term partner who was never legally married. A stepchild who was never formally adopted. A close friend who has been family in every way that matters. Under New Jersey’s intestacy laws, none of these people receive anything when you die without a will, regardless of how central they were to your life. A will is the only way to include them.

What Happens Without a Will in New Jersey

When you die without a will in New Jersey, the state’s intestacy laws determine what happens to everything you owned. The law distributes your assets in a fixed order based on legal relationships: spouse first, then children, then parents, then siblings, then extended relatives. It does not consider who you were close to, who you would have chosen, or what you actually wanted. It applies the same formula to every estate regardless of size.

For a single person with no spouse and no children, the estate passes to parents. If both parents are deceased, it goes to siblings. If you have no siblings, it continues outward through the family tree. A longtime partner, a close friend, or anyone outside the statutory hierarchy receives nothing.

For a parent with minor children and no surviving spouse, the children inherit everything. If those children are minors, the court manages the assets on their behalf until they reach adulthood, at which point they receive everything outright, regardless of whether they are ready for it. A will can direct that assets be held in trust until the children are older, or distribute them in stages. Without a will, that option is gone.

None of this requires a large estate to matter. It applies to the car, the savings account, and the personal property just as much as it applies to a house or an investment portfolio.

What People Get Wrong About What a Will Costs

The other common reason people skip a will is the belief that it is expensive or complicated. For a straightforward will, it is neither.

A basic will for a single person or a couple without complex assets or family situations is among the most routine documents an estate planning attorney prepares. It does not require multiple meetings or months of back and forth. For most working families, the combination of a will, a durable power of attorney, and a healthcare proxy covers the essential bases and can often be prepared through a straightforward planning process.

The cost of not having a will is harder to quantify but consistently higher. Court-appointed administrators, surety bonds, probate delays, family disputes over personal property, and guardianship proceedings for minor children all add cost and time that a simple will would have prevented. The families who say estate planning was not worth it rarely say so because the plan was too expensive. They say it after going through the alternative.

The Three Documents Every Working Family Needs

A will is the starting point. For most working families, three documents form the core of a basic plan that covers the most likely situations.

A will distributes your assets, names an executor, and nominates a guardian for minor children. A durable power of attorney names someone to manage your financial affairs if you are incapacitated, injured, or otherwise unable to handle things yourself. Without it, your family may need to go to court to obtain that authority, depending on the circumstances, even in an emergency. A healthcare proxy names someone to make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself and ensures that your wishes about your own care are on record.

None of these require significant assets to be worth having. They require that you have people in your life whose situation will be affected by what happens to you.

Plan Well. Live Better.

A will is not a document for people with a lot. It is a document for people who care about what happens after they are gone, who raised their kids well enough to want to choose who finishes the job, and who have worked hard enough to want their things to go where they intended. At Milvidskiy Law Group, we help New Jersey families put basic plans in place without making it complicated or expensive. Learn more about our estate planning services.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Estate planning and elder law are highly individual. What is right for one family may not be right for another. We encourage you to speak with a qualified attorney to discuss your specific situation.