Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Do I need to write a will?

You have asked a complex question.

Life Insurance *should* be paid to the beneficiaries whether or not you have a will. The proceeds belong to the beneficiaries at your death, they do not belong to your estate. The only hold-up could come from insurance company investigation.

That being said, it is generally a good idea to have a will, and engage in estate planning before death. This will simplify the transfer of your assets upon death.

I recommend hiring an attorney who does estate planning to review this with you. (depending on the size of your estate excluding life insurance).

Re: Do I need to write a will?

It's a good idea to write a will or other estate plan, and to have it done the right way using an attorney. Otherwise, as you can see if you look through the questions and answers in the LawGuru knowledge base, your wife and/or kids could be the next unfortunate story.

Merely notarizing a will doesn't satisfy the legal requirements. There have to be two independent witnesses, or the will has to bein your own handwriting. Please have an attorney draft the will, this is not expensive and will save more than it costs.