Do I need a will if I want to leave everything to my spouse?
Jan Meriss Alfonso Assistant at Parklin Law Why do you need a will You may have heard that you don't need a will if you want to leave everything to your spouse. After all, if all you want to do is pass on everything after you die, why would you need one? If you're married and you died, your assets will be automatically inherited by the surviving spouse. What happens depends on whether or not you have a will. State law In most states, when a person has no will (also called dying intestate), state law decides who gets what. This means that your assets would be distributed according to the laws of the state where you live. The rules are different in every state, so it's important to know what they are where you live. The laws of intestacy The laws of intestacy vary greatly from state to state, but in many states—such as Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania—your assets go first to your spouse and then to other family members. If there's no surviving spouse or...