According to Houston Financial Advisor Richard J. Alphonso, JD, CPA, M.S.T., and Tax Manager C. Randy Scott, a properly drafted will provides for the orderly administration of your estate according to your wishes, and directs your executor to pay your debts, funeral expenses and taxes from the assets of your estate.

Without a will, your assets will pass according to the laws of intestacy — which means the state will determine who inherits your estate.