Can You Remove Yourself From A Will?

Receiving an inheritance via a will from a deceased loved one is an extremely kind last action that one can take. They are thinking about how they want to leave things for their loved ones after they pass on. However, not everyone wants to accept their inheritance for whatever reason. If that is the situation that you find yourself in, you will need to know the rules and have access to the experts who can help you get your name off of a will.

Why You May Want to Remove Yourself from a Will

Typically, people are eager to receive their inheritance from someone who has opted to provide them with this. However, there are at least some people who will refuse their inheritance for whatever reason. They may feel that they are financially stable and do not really need the extra funds that will come with an inheritance. There are others who don’t want to pay the taxes that come with an inheritance. No matter what the reason for refusing the money, it is important to get an attorney that you can trust to provide you with the answers that you need about how to get yourself off of a will.

Act With Urgency

It is necessary to act with extreme urgency if you are hopeful about getting yourself off of a will that someone that you know has already put you on. The reason being that the law requires the urgent distribution of items of value after someone has passed away.

Those who file the proper paperwork with the court can avoid having to inherit those goods that would have been bestowed upon you otherwise. If you react quickly, then you can get yourself out of this and hopefully avoid the tax consequences and other downsides of receiving an inheritance.

What Happens if You Take No Action?

Those who are listed on a will and take no action to get themselves removed from that will are at risk of having to automatically receive the inheritance that was due to come to them. They will receive the items that their dearly departed have listed in their will, and they will be required to pay taxes on those proceeds.

Sometimes, people think that if they take no action they will not receive the assets that are assigned to them, but that is simply inaccurate. They are going to be in line to receive what has been designated to them, and the court won’t step in to stop this if there is no action taken. Instead, the court will assume that the lack of action means that the recipient of the inheritance wants to receive what is in the will for them. You can’t turn back time and plead that you didn’t want to receive these items after the fact. You will merely have to accept what has been distributed to you.

What Does the Law Say on This Matter?

It is surprisingly less complicated to get yourself removed from a will than you may have realized. There are people that request to receive this specific thing all the time. Legal Zoom explains that it is possible by noting the following:

Under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules, to refuse an inheritance, you must execute a written disclaimer that clearly expresses your “irrevocable and unqualified” intent to refuse the bequest.

Someone who makes it plainly clear that they are not interested in receiving the inheritance that otherwise would have come their way can get out of it by sending a letter that expressly points out that they do not want to receive the assets that they are legally entitled to.

Getting a Lawyer is the Best Way Forward

There is no question that obtaining a lawyer to help out with these matters is the best way to move forward. Not only is a lawyer a great choice in terms of making sure you get the best possible advice, but a lawyer can help you file all of the paperwork that you need in order to make sure you are pulled from the will just as you wish to be.

You always retain the option to compare different lawyers against one another until you find one that is clearly the best at what they do. This is to say that you can always make the choice to hire someone that will make sure you get off of the will when you need to. Not only that, but they can help you feel at ease with the entire process and never talk down to you. If you find all of that in one package, then you should move forward with hiring that particular individual.

It is up to you to discover the best lawyer that you need to get yourself off of a will that you don’t want to be on. Start looking now, make sure you act quickly, and contact us today.