DEAR BRUCE: My mother-in-law is 75 and may soon be entering a nursing home. She refuses to have a will made, saying it's unnecessary because everything is in my wife's name or held jointly. I question this thinking and would like to know what you think?
--Reader, via e-mail

DEAR Reader: I just don't understand why people are so reluctant to have a will. It doesn't cost that much and assures that your loved ones are left with what you intended them to have. You cannot believe the amount of letters I get regarding wills. You and I are together on this one. There is no excuse to avoid making a properly drawn and executed will. It's entirely possible that everything will pass directly to your wife through this joint tenancy, and the right of survivorship accounts. In the event that they don't, the will serves as a backup. If everything passes satisfactorily, then the will can be discarded or just filed, not probated.

In his Smart Money column, Bruce Williams answers readers' questions on personal finance, covering concerns such as collecting debts, investing inherited money, starting a business and getting a loan. A popular radio personality, Williams was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1999. Williams has authored four books, and he writes the "Smart Money" column, which appears in over 600 newspapers.