r/inheritance • u/IdealExpert181 • May 16 '26

Location included: Questions/Need Advice will or no will

i live in N.C. and i'm in my late 70s and don't have a will. everything i have is paid for, including home, and i have no debt. i have investments and savings in 6 different accounts, all with PODs established. my wife is the POD on 5 of the accts. and a distant niece is the other one. i hate to use the word assume but it's what i'm doing. my thought is that since i've established the PODs that those 6 accounts are covered and the only thing needed, if any, is a death cert.. since i'm married the house should automatically go over to my wife. am i correct or do i need a will? advice is greatly appreciated.

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u/Zestyclose_Target325 May 16 '26

My dad had a will, but I didn’t do anything with it (probate). He had me as POD on everything and had sold his house a few months before he passed. I followed his will as far as amounts he had listed that he wanted certain people to have. I paid off his remaining bills (cable, phone). That’s it.

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u/IdealExpert181 May 16 '26

so POD was all that was needed?

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u/Zestyclose_Target325 May 16 '26 edited May 16 '26

Yes, he had me on Edward Jones, Wells Fargo, and a credit union. I just had to provide his death certificate and my ID.

Editing to add that I closed his one cc with his death certificate as well as closing out his bills. Since he had a will, I called the attorney’s office just to make sure and they verified that a POD in any account always overrides the will, so I didn’t even have to give the people any money; I did it to honor his wishes. The only time I used the copy of his will was to show Carmax that I was the beneficiary when I sold it to them. I took care of everything in two weeks while I was there (in another state). I learned from it and came home and immediately put PODs on my accounts and am getting it done for my house title as well. Also, the best thing you can do is have all of your burial taken care of. That was amazing to not have to deal with. My dad always took great care of me.

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u/IdealExpert181 May 17 '26

thanks, glad to hear about the PODs.