Don't let the state write your will!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkU-ANnlgC8&feature=related Start at 1:16, and I quote:

"If you don’t have a will, do you know you have a will? And it’s written by the state you live in. And so if you are really fond of government and you trust them to write your will, then maybe that’s not something to concern yourself with. but truly, if you don’t have a will, the state you live in will write your will for you, and you can only imagine what they will do with the assets, no matter how large or small they may be."

Wow, fear mongering to get estate-planning business?

True, one important reason to have a will is so that your stuff goes exactly where you want it to go rather than through the laws of intestacy. But, "you can only imagine what they will do with the assets . . ."?

That's right, look up Missouri's laws for people who don't have wills. The first fifty percent goes to the governor sitting at the time of the person's demise and the remaining fifty percent gets divided among the House and Senate (note: the governor gets the use the assets however he pleases, but the legislators and senators have to spend their portion of the estate wining and dining each other and lobbyists. I'm not sure why the governor is not put to a similar limitation).

The truth is, Missouri and all 49 other states divide the property among family members, looking first to surviving spouses and children, and if there are none, going then one step of relationship at a time up (ancestors) and down (descendants), until getting so far out that there isn't anybody remotely related to the deceased, at which point the property is acquired by the State.

Get a will, but not because you lie awake at night horrified at what the state will do with your assets if you die without one.