When Egypt’s pharaohs were entombed in pyramids, many of their worldly possessions were buried with them. They believed they might need these things in the afterlife.

Today, people are more likely to believe the common saying, “You can’t take it with you.”

Legal processes now guide how individuals take care of their property and possessions to make sure they are distributed as they wish after they die. This makes things easier on family and friends.

“When someone passes away, it’s a sad time and people have concerns,” said Mary Jo Dillon, a lawyer at McCandless, King, Coulter and Graham.

She said having a will minimizes worry and confusion.

“By doing estate planning you are being kind to your family,” Dillon said. “It shows you love them.”

She said a will indicates who will benefit from the estate. It also defines any special circumstances that could alter that plan, such as how a child with special needs will be cared for.

Dillon said even a simple will is better than no will.

She said for a will to be valid in Pennsylvania, the person making the will must be at least 18 years old and have testamentary intent, which means they intend the document to be their will. The document also must be signed and dated.

After a person’s death, the register of wills at the Butler County Courthouse will determine if the will is valid.

Dillon said a will has to be written; it cannot be a verbal agreement. If necessary, it can be written by hand.

She said every individual has circumstances that make their will different from another person’s. There isn’t a cookie-cutter will that works for everyone.

“If you’re contemplating printing out a packet from a website, your money would be better spent consulting an attorney,” Dillon said.

She said a will names someone to be the personal representative for the person who died. The representative, also called the executor, will have responsibilities, which includes authority for bank accounts, preparing an inventory of assets and selling property.

“You should reflect upon who has the skills to administer the estate,” Dillon said. She said the person should be organized and decisive and have good communication skills.

Dillon said if there isn’t a will, the state will identify the inheritors.

There are things that people are unlikely to know if they prepare their own will.

For example, Dillon said it is simpler in the long run if the individual making the will and the witnesses to the will have their signatures notarized. If they don’t, someone will have to track down the witnesses to verify their signatures when the will is registered at the courthouse.

Dillon said people should make sure their wills continue to reflect their wishes over the years. There is no requirement to consult the same attorney who wrote the will if you need to alter it later.

She said, “Anytime there is a change in circumstances — death, marriage, birth — you should pull out your will and take a look at it.”

In addition to the will, there are other written instructions from estate planning that also can help a family.

“The risk of long-term care is the biggest threat to families,” said Tim Sechler, a partner at Heritage Elder Law and Estate Planning.

“If they haven’t incorporated that into their plan, they could lose everything that they’ve worked hard to accumulate and then there wouldn’t be an estate. There wouldn’t be anything left when they pass away,” he said.

Sechler said power of attorney is one way of maintaining control of the assets within the family without having to get court intervention, which could happen when someone moves into a nursing home.

However, he sees powers of attorney in some estates that aren’t powerful enough. These include the ones printed from the Web.

“When you do a durable power of attorney, you are naming someone else to make legal and financial decisions on your behalf,” Sechler said.

“People make the assumption that all powers of attorney documents are the same, but there are differences within the documents,” he said.

Sechler said the average cost for a nursing home in Pennsylvania is $9,000 per month. At that rate, a family will go through money quickly.

“The family may be able to access public benefits by implementing certain strategies, but if it’s not in the power of attorney, we cannot help them as well,” Sechler said.

“Another issue is failing to properly plan for an IRA,” Sechler said. It is an example of property that specifies beneficiaries.

He said most families have the surviving spouse and children as the beneficiaries.

However, they don’t consider whether the survivors will receive the money in a lump sum or gradually over time. This could make a difference in the survivors’ taxes.

In his work, Sechler encounters failure to maintain control of the estate, and he recommends people apply the provisions that can protect their assets.

For many different reasons, people often delay or neglect to plan for what will happen when they die.

“Sometimes people come in and it’s really difficult because they’re struggling with family relationships,” she said.

Dillon said the key to easy administration of an estate is to have everything transparent.

“You have to keep everything simple,” she said. “You have to understand or have an attorney explain.”