Q: I own both a car and house with a girl, we are not married. If I die will she take full ownership or do I need a will?
We live in Ohio and I’m not sure if I need to make a will and leave my half of these things to her, or if the intestate laws will guarantee she gets full possession of the house and car? I don’t want my family trying to claim half of these items if something happens to me.
A:
If you own an asset together and the title contains the words " joint owners, with rights of survivorship" then the asset would pass to the other person automatically upon the first to die.
Otherwise, you need a will that names your girl friend.
A: The laws of intestate succession NEVER include unrelated parties as heirs. To ensure that your girlfriend receives your estate when you die, you need a will. There are other methods that can be used that do not involve probating a will. For example, you could title the car in both of your names separated by the word "OR". Similar techniques are available for the house. However, these non-probate techniques suffer from the downside that they expose those assets to your girlfriend's creditors, sometimes cannot be undone without her signature (what if you break up?), and other issues. The will is the safest because you can always change it and her signature is not required to do so.
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