A Last Will and Testament is the document that tells the probate court — and your family — how you want your assets distributed when you die, and who you want to handle the work of getting them there. It is the foundation of almost every estate plan. If you’re looking for an Alabama wills attorney, Lattof Injury Law drafts wills for Alabama residents and property owners from our office at The Wharf in Orange Beach — with flat fees quoted in advance, plain-language drafting, and in-home signings available across Baldwin and Mobile Counties. Call 251-432-6691 for a free consultation. This page is part of our estate planning practice.

What a Will Does (and Doesn’t Do) in Alabama

A will lets you do the following:

• Name who inherits each asset, in any combination of percentages, dollar amounts, or specific items
• Designate a personal representative (sometimes called an executor) to administer your estate
• Nominate a guardian for minor children
• Create a testamentary trust — a trust that comes into being at your death, often used to hold assets for minor children or a beneficiary who needs help managing money
• Forgive debts owed to you
• Direct how taxes and expenses are paid from the estate

A will does not control assets that pass outside of probate. Life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts (401(k), IRA), payable-on-death bank accounts, and jointly titled real estate generally pass directly to the named beneficiary or surviving owner regardless of what the will says. Coordinating beneficiary designations with the will is one of the most important parts of estate planning.

What Happens If You Die Without a Will in Alabama

If you die without a will, you are “intestate,” and Alabama’s intestate succession statute (Code of Alabama §43-8-40 et seq.) decides who inherits. The rules are not as simple as “everything to the spouse.” For example:

• If you are survived by a spouse and by descendants who are also descendants of the spouse, the spouse takes the first $50,000 plus half of the remaining estate. The rest passes to your descendants.
• If you are survived by a spouse and by descendants who are not descendants of the spouse (a common blended-family scenario), the spouse takes only half. The other half goes to your descendants.
• If there is a spouse and parents (no children), the spouse takes the first $100,000 plus half the rest. The remainder passes to the parents.
• If there is no spouse, no children, and no parents, the estate passes to siblings, then more distant relatives, and ultimately escheats to the State of Alabama.

The intestate rules are blunt instruments — they don’t account for the child you raised but never adopted, the stepchild you considered your own, the family member you wouldn’t trust with a houseplant, or the charity you wanted to support. A will is how you take that decision back.

Simple Wills vs. Testamentary Trusts

A simple will distributes your assets outright to named beneficiaries. It works well when beneficiaries are adults capable of managing what they inherit and when the estate is straightforward.

A testamentary trust is created inside your will and comes into being at your death. It holds assets for a beneficiary — often a minor child, a young adult, or a family member who can’t or shouldn’t manage money directly — and distributes them according to instructions you set. A trustee you designate manages the trust until the conditions for distribution are met (for example, the beneficiary reaching a certain age or finishing school).

Which structure makes sense depends on your family, the size of the estate, and what you want to accomplish. We discuss both options at the consultation and recommend what fits.

Probate in Alabama (and Why It Matters for How You Draft Your Will)

When you die with a will in Alabama, the will is filed in the probate court of the county where you lived — Baldwin County for most of our clients, Mobile County for some. The personal representative named in the will is appointed by the court, gathers the assets, pays creditors and taxes, and distributes the remaining assets to the beneficiaries.

Probate is not the disaster some popular literature makes it out to be — Alabama probate is comparatively efficient, and most uncontested estates close in 6–12 months. But there are things you can do in drafting that make probate easier and cheaper for your family. Self-proving affidavits (which we use as a default), clear residuary clauses, and avoiding unnecessary specific bequests are some of them.

Common Mistakes We See

• DIY wills from online forms that don’t comply with Alabama’s witness requirements — these can be invalid entirely
• DIY wills from online forms that don’t comply with Alabama’s self-proving will requirements – these can greatly increase the cost and time of probate
• Wills that conflict with beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, leading to unintended results
• Wills written before a marriage, divorce, or new child that were never updated
• “Gift” clauses that name specific items the testator no longer owned at death (creating disputes about substitute property)
• Naming a personal representative who lives out of state without considering bond requirements
• Failing to address what happens if a beneficiary dies before the testator — without language addressing this, the gift may lapse and pass through residuary clauses or intestacy

Process and Cost

Most simple Alabama wills can be drafted, reviewed, signed, and witnessed in two appointments (or a phone call and appointment) over one to two weeks. The first appointment (which can usually be handled by a phone call – depending on what’s most convenient for you) is the substantive consultation; the second is the signing ceremony with witnesses and a notary — at our office, or in your home if traveling is difficult, or we can even send it to you with instructions on executing it yourself (not usually recommended). Flat fees are quoted at the consultation, along with the fee for a complete package that adds a durable power of attorney, an advance directive for health care, and a HIPAA authorization.

Wills for Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Fort Morgan

A lot of the wills we draft from The Wharf are for people who live on this coast, or who own here and live part of the year somewhere else. Orange Beach, Gulf Shores, and Fort Morgan property is often a homestead plus a rental, or Alabama real estate sitting next to accounts and a house in another state. A will that ignores that mismatch is how families end up in two probate courts. Baldwin County probate is in Bay Minette; we draft so the document you sign here actually matches the property you own.

We come to you for the signing if getting to The Wharf is the hard part — including Fort Morgan Road.

Talk to an Alabama Wills Attorney – Free Consultation

Whether you need a first will, an updated one, or a will that fits a complicated family or asset situation, we can help. The first conversation is free. Call 251-432-6691 or use our contact form.

Lattof Injury Law — 4593 Main Street, Suite C-204, Orange Beach, AL 36561 (The Wharf). Phone: 251-432-6691.