Everything in the guide

Chapter 1Your information

1. Question 1For whom is this will being written?

   A word from the guide: A wife's will follows the pattern of the traditional documents: everything goes to her husband, who is her heir under Torah law, and only if he is no longer alive is it divided among the children.

   • 1. For a husband

     • Question 4Your wife's name.
   • 2. For a wife

     • Question 5Your husband's name.

2. Question 2Date

3. Question 3Your name.

   • ✎ Your father's name (for “ben / bas ___”)

4. Question 6Address

   • ✎ Email
   • ✎ Cell #

5. Question 7How many children do you have?

   A word from the guide: Enter all your children in order of birth — first name, last name, and whether a son or a daughter.

   • First name · Last name · a son / a daughter · ＋ Add another child.
   • ✎ Are all the children from the same father and mother?

6. Question 8Do you have a firstborn son who inherits a double share (a bechor l'nachalah)?

   A word from the guide: A child born by Caesarean section is not a bechor l'nachalah.

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ Which child is the firstborn (bechor l'nachalah)? — — choose a child —
   • 2. No

7. Question 9Roughly how much is your estate worth?

   A word from the guide: A rough figure is enough. The full list of assets is worked out in the chapter “Your assets — the full picture”; a total is calculated there as well, and you can drop it in here with one click.

   • ✎ $
   • Use the total from the asset list

Chapter 2Personal instructions

1. Question 10Would you like to leave personal instructions for after your passing (funeral, tombstone, burial, and the like)?

   A word from the guide: Optional — for example: where you wish to be buried, instructions about eulogies or the tombstone. Whatever you write here goes into the will document word for word.

Chapter 3Who is in charge

As a person gets older, there may come a time when he can no longer look after his affairs and property himself — who should take care of them?

1. Question 11Personal and health matters — who?

   A word from the guide: You can choose more than one person — your wife/husband, one of the children, or someone else.

   • My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.

2. Question 12Are you thinking of giving them something for this?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ What?
   • 2. No

3. Question 13Business and money matters — who?

   A word from the guide: You can choose more than one person — your wife/husband, one of the children, or someone else.

   • My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.

4. Question 14Are you thinking of giving them something for this?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ What?
   • 2. No

5. Question 15Who should be responsible for carrying out the will (the executors)?

   A word from the guide: You can choose more than one person — your wife/husband, one of the children, or someone else.

   • My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.

6. Question 16Are you thinking of giving them something for this?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ What?
   • 2. No

7. Question 17Who should be in charge of managing whatever remains in the estate?

   Asked only when something stays in the estate for a while — the business goes to all the children as partners, or it is to be sold, or it is bought out and the heirs stay partners until it is paid (questions 43 and 46).

   A word from the guide: If something remains in the estate after the will has been carried out — for example, the heirs stay partners in the business until it is paid out or sold, or a property is waiting for a buyer — someone has to keep managing and servicing it until it is sold or divided.

   • 1. The same executors who were appointed to carry out the will.
   • 2. I want to choose separately.

     • Question 18Who should manage it?

       A word from the guide: You can choose more than one person — your wife/husband, one of the children, or someone else.

       • My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.

8. Question 19Are you thinking of giving them something for this?

   Asked only when something stays in the estate for a while — the business goes to all the children as partners, or it is to be sold, or it is bought out and the heirs stay partners until it is paid (questions 43 and 46).

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ What?
   • 2. No

Chapter 4How to divide the estate

1. Question 20How should the estate be divided — if the mother is no longer alive?

   • 1. To the halachic heirs only.
     • Is there property in your name that will need to be legally transferred to your heirs?
       • 1. Yes
         • ✎ What will the daughters receive in return for signing a release waiving their legal rights to the inheritance?
       • 2. No
   • 2. All the children equally — You give this as a gift taking effect before your passing, in the halachically permitted manner, and leave a meaningful amount (a “davar chashuv”) to be divided only among the halachic heirs after your passing.
     • ✎ How much should the “davar chashuv” be — the amount left for the halachic heirs? — $

     • Question 21What is your reason for giving all the children equal shares?

       ☑ You may choose more than one

       A word from the guide: You can choose more than one reason.

       • 1. So that the son-in-law sees that the father values his daughter enough to have her in mind — then he too will value her.
       • 2. To prevent disputes among the children.
       • 3. Because the son-in-law is a Torah scholar, and it is a privilege to be able to support a Torah scholar.
       • 4. Because the daughters care for the parents in their older years.
       • 5. Because the daughters need the money to marry off their children.
       • 6. So that the daughters are never tempted to claim in court the money the law would give them, which could lead to a desecration of G-d's name.
   • 3. You want to give one child differently from the others
     • ✎ To whom, and what?
     • ✎ Please explain to your children the reason why you are doing this.
     • And the rest of the children — how should the estate be divided among them?
       • 1. To the halachic heirs only.
         • Is there property in your name that will need to be legally transferred to your heirs?
           • 1. Yes
             • ✎ What will the daughters receive in return for signing a release waiving their legal rights to the inheritance?
           • 2. No
       • 2. All the children equally — You give this as a gift taking effect before your passing, in the halachically permitted manner, and leave a meaningful amount (a “davar chashuv”) to be divided only among the halachic heirs after your passing.
         • ✎ How much should the “davar chashuv” be — the amount left for the halachic heirs? — $
         • → then question 21
       • 3. By “chelek zachar / chatzi zachar” — each son receives two portions, each daughter one portion. — As written in the traditional documents (chelek zachar / chatzi zachar).
   • 4. By “chelek zachar / chatzi zachar” — each son receives two portions, each daughter one portion. — As written in the traditional documents (chelek zachar / chatzi zachar).

2. Question 22Should the seforim (holy books) and ritual objects go only to the sons, and the candlesticks, trays, and jewelry only to the daughters — divided by the lot system?

   A word from the guide: As it is written in the traditional documents: the items are grouped into packages of roughly equal value and lots are drawn; the firstborn receives two packages. This division takes place only after both parents have passed away.

   • 1. Yes
   • 2. No

Chapter 5If the mother is still alive

This chapter is asked only when question 1 is answered “For a husband”.

1. Question 23Which home or homes should remain exclusively for the mother's use for the rest of her life?

   • 1. Every home the two of you were using until then.
     • ✎ Which home(s)? Enter the address(es): — Address — ＋ Add another address
   • 2. The main home you were using.
     • ✎ Which home? Enter the address: — Address
   • 3. She may choose which home she wants to live in.
     • ✎ Which homes may she choose from? Enter the address(es): — Address — ＋ Add another address
   • 4. Not applicable — no home needs to be set aside for her. — For example: there is no home of your own, or she will be living elsewhere.

2. Question 24And the rest of the estate — how should it be divided, if the mother is still alive?

   A word from the guide: Since the home(s) you set aside in the previous question remain the mother's for the rest of her life in any case, this question is only about the rest of the estate.

   • 1. The same as if the mother were no longer alive.
     • ✎ Where will the mother's income come from?
   • 2. Everything stays undivided, and the mother receives all the income for the rest of her life.
   • 3. Divide the estate into two (or more) portions more than the number of children, and those extra portions go to the mother.
   • 4. Divide everything except one larger asset, from which she can live comfortably without having to ask anyone for anything.
     • ✎ Which asset?
   • 5. Everything in the mother's name stays entirely hers, and the rest of the estate is divided equally among the children.
   • 6. Something else — you decide yourself how to divide it. — Whatever you write here goes into the will document exactly as you write it.
     • ✎ Spell out clearly how the estate should be divided:

Chapter 6Property rented below market rate

1. Question 25Do you own a property, building, apartment, or the like that someone is using without paying you full market rent?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ Which property or properties? Enter the address(es): — Address — ＋ Add another address

     • Question 26Should all these properties be handled the same way?

       Only when more than one address was entered.

       A word from the guide: If each property needs different treatment, the next question will be asked separately for each address.

       • 1. Yes — all the same.
       • 2. No — each property separately.

     • Question 27How should this property be handled?

       A word from the guide: The value of the property will be deducted from his share of the inheritance — so in effect it is as if the money had been paid right away.

       • 1. It is a gift to the one using it.
         • ✎ What do the others receive to balance this? — Nothing / …
         • As of when should its value be assessed?
           • 1. Its value from when he began using the property (please write out the amount). — That amount will be deducted from his share of the inheritance.
             • ✎ The amount: — $
             • If his share of the inheritance is not enough to cover it, must he pay the rest to the other heirs?
               • 1. Yes
               • 2. No
           • 2. The value of the property at the time it is deducted from the inheritance.
             • ✎ How will the correct value be determined?
             • If his share of the inheritance is not enough to cover it, must he pay the rest to the other heirs?
               • 1. Yes
               • 2. No
       • 2. It belongs to the estate.
         • Can he, or does he want to, buy it out?
           • 1. He can / wants to buy it out — Until he pays for it:
             • Until then:
               • 1. For the first 18 / 12 / 6 months he pays the same rent he has been paying, and after that it goes to market rate.
               • 2. He must immediately start paying rent at the market rate.
               • 3. He keeps paying rent exactly as before.
           • 2. He cannot / does not want to buy it out — Until he moves out:
             • Until then:
               • 1. For the first 18 / 12 / 6 months he pays the same rent he has been paying, and after that it goes to market rate.
               • 2. He must immediately start paying rent at the market rate.
               • 3. He keeps paying rent exactly as before.
   • 2. No

Chapter 7Past gifts and promises

1. Question 28Have you ever given one of your children a large gift that you want deducted from that child's inheritance?

   • 1. Yes

     • Question 29What?

       ☑ You may choose more than one

       A word from the guide: There may be more than one.

       • 1. To buy a home
         • Which child, and how much?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · How much? $ · ＋ Add another child
       • 2. To buy or start a business
         • Which child, and how much?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · How much? $ · ＋ Add another child
       • 3. For an investment
         • Which child, and how much?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · How much? $ · ＋ Add another child
       • 4. To pay off a debt
         • Which child, and how much?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · How much? $ · ＋ Add another child
       • 5. Something else
         • ✎ What?
         • Which child, and how much?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · How much? $ · ＋ Add another child
   • 2. No

2. Question 30Have you ever promised someone (a child or an outsider) a large gift?

   • 1. Yes
     • To whom, what, and why?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · What did you promise? · Why did you promise it? · ＋ Add another promise
   • 2. No

Chapter 8Debts and loans

1. Question 31Does one of your children owe you money?

   • 1. Yes
     • Which child, how much, and what for?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · What is the amount? $ · What was the loan for? (It helps the child remember) · ＋ Add another child

     • Question 32How should the debt be repaid?

       • 1. Whenever he can.
       • 2. From his share of the inheritance.
         • If his share of the inheritance is not enough to cover the whole debt, must he pay the rest to the other heirs?
           • 1. Yes
           • 2. No
       • 3. He does not have to repay it, because you have forgiven it.
   • 2. No — and if there was one, you have forgiven it.

2. Question 33Have you ever lent money privately to someone, which may still be unpaid?

   • 1. Yes
     • To whom, how much, and what for?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · How much? $ · When? · What was the loan for? · Is there a written note? · ＋ Add another loan
   • 2. No — and if there was one, you have forgiven it.

Chapter 9Setting money aside for specific purposes

1. Question 34Do you want to set aside money for a specific purpose not covered above?

   ☑ You may choose more than one

   A word from the guide: There may be more than one.

   • 1. To pay your debts
     • ✎ Whom do you owe?
     • ✎ How much? — $
   • 2. Charity (tzedakah)
     • ✎ Which cause?
     • ✎ How much? — $
   • 3. Grandchildren's weddings
     • ✎ How much should be given toward each wedding? — $
   • 4. For the grandchildren
     • ✎ How much should each grandchild receive? — $
   • 5. Publishing a sefer (Torah work)
     • ✎ How much do you want to set aside for this purpose? — $
     • ✎ And any money left over?
   • 6. A special project
     • ✎ What is the project?
     • ✎ How much? — $
     • ✎ And any money left over?
   • 7. Something else
     • ✎ What?
     • ✎ How much? — $

Chapter 10Gemach money · Assets held in other names

1. Question 35Have you ever used a gemach (free-loan fund) to hold money for you?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ Which one?
     • ✎ Roughly when?
     • ✎ Roughly how much? — $
   • 2. No

2. Question 36Do you hold assets in your name that do not actually belong to you?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ What?
     • ✎ Who really owns it?
     • ✎ Who else knows about it (besides you)?
   • 2. No

3. Question 37Are there assets in someone else's name that really belong to you?

   • 1. Yes
     • ✎ What?
     • ✎ In whose name is it held?
     • ✎ Who else knows about it (besides you)?
     • Do you have a document for it?
       • 1. Yes
       • 2. No
   • 2. No

Chapter 11Your assets — the full picture

1. Question 38What kinds of assets do you have? Check off what applies — and list each one right here.

   ☑ You may choose more than one

   A word from the guide: Go through the whole list, even the items that don't apply — it jogs the memory about things people often forget: loans you gave out, life insurance, and assets held in someone else's name. For each item you check, write in which one — the details (value, whose name it is in, etc.) are asked afterward.

   • 1. The house or apartment you live in
     • ✎ The address: — Address — ＋ Add another
   • 2. Other real estate (buildings, apartments, land)
     • ✎ The address(es) — one per line: — Address — ＋ Add another
   • 3. A business of your own
     • ✎ The name of the business: — Name of the business — ＋ Add another
   • 4. A share in a business with partners
     • ✎ The name of the business: — Name of the business — ＋ Add another
   • 5. Bank and investment accounts
     • ✎ At which bank or firm? — Name of the bank or firm — ＋ Add another
   • 6. Retirement accounts (IRA, 401k, pension)
     • ✎ With which company? — Name of the company — ＋ Add another
   • 7. Life insurance
     • ✎ With which insurance company? — Name of the company — ＋ Add another
   • 8. Jewelry, seforim, and other valuables
     • ✎ What is it? — one per line: — e.g., a silver collection — ＋ Add another
   • 9. Something else
     • ✎ What is it? — one per line: — Describe what it is — ＋ Add another

2. Question 39In whose name is it held?

   Asked for each asset you listed in question 38.

   A word from the guide: Whoever manages an asset is not always the person whose name it is in — first, the ownership of each item is made clear.

   • 1. It is in my own name.
   • 2. It is in my name jointly with someone else.
     • ✎ With whom?
     • ✎ What % is yours? — %
   • 3. It is held through an entity (LLC, corporation, partnership, trust).
     • Which entity?
       • ＋ A new entity
       • ✎ Name of the company
       • LLC · Corporation · Partnership · Trust · Other
       • ✎ What % is yours? %
       • ✎ Who else has a share, and how much?
       • Who runs / signs for the entity today?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · Myself · ＋ Add another person.
       • Is there an operating agreement that says what happens if one of the owners passes away?
         • 1. Yes
         • 2. No
         • 3. Not sure
       • Do the corporate documents say what should happen if a shareholder passes away?
         • 1. Yes
         • 2. No
         • 3. Not sure
       • Is there a partnership agreement that says what happens if a partner passes away?
         • 1. Yes
         • 2. No
         • 3. Not sure
       • ✎ Who is the trustee, and who comes after?
   • 4. It is in someone else's name.
     • ✎ In whose name?
     • Is there a document for it?
       • 1. Yes
       • 2. No

3. Question 40Value and details

   Asked for each asset you listed in question 38.

   A word from the guide: A rough estimate is enough — it helps later to see whether the will can actually be carried out the way you want.

   • The house or apartment you live in
     • ✎ Value of the house — $
     • ✎ Mortgage on it — $
     • ✎ Rental income per year (if you rent out part of it) — $
   • Other real estate (buildings, apartments, land)
     • ✎ Value — $
     • ✎ Mortgage / debt on it — $
     • ✎ Rental income per year — $
   • A business of your own
     • ✎ Value of the business (a rough estimate today) — $
     • ✎ Debts of the business — $
     • ✎ Profit per year — $
   • A share in a business with partners
     • ✎ Value of your share (a rough estimate today) — $
     • ✎ Debts of the business — $
     • ✎ Your share of the profits per year — $
   • Bank and investment accounts
     • ✎ Balance — $
   • Retirement accounts (IRA, 401k, pension)
     • ✎ Balance — $
     • ✎ Who are the beneficiaries?
   • Life insurance
     • ✎ Face amount of the policy — $
     • ✎ Who are the beneficiaries?
   • Jewelry, seforim, and other valuables
     • ✎ Approximate value — $
   • Something else
     • ✎ Approximate value — $
     • ✎ More details

4. Question 41Who should manage this after your passing, until it is divided or sold?

   Asked for each of these assets you listed in question 38: The house or apartment you live in · Other real estate (buildings, apartments, land) · Something else.

   A word from the guide: Now that we know whose name it is in and what it is worth — who manages it, and what should ultimately happen to it.

   • 1. The same executors/managers already appointed earlier.
   • 2. Specific people for this asset.
     • Who?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.
   • Who actually manages it today? (Who signs on the bank account, collects the rent, makes the decisions): My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · Myself · ＋ Add another person.
   • If, G-d forbid, you could not manage it for a few months — who could run it in the meantime?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.
   • And what should ultimately happen to it?
     • 1. It stays with the heirs (in the family).
     • 2. Sell it.
       • ✎ Who decides when and for how much? (e.g., the executors, based on an appraisal)
     • 3. A child or heir takes it over or buys it out.
       • Who?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.
       • ✎ On what terms? (e.g., 10% below market price)
     • 4. It goes into a fund or a designated purpose.
       • ✎ Which one?
     • 5. Not yet decided — the executors will decide.

Chapter 12The business

1. Question 42Do you have a business?

   Skipped when a business is already on your asset list (question 38) — then it counts as “Yes”.

   A word from the guide: If yes — how should it be handled? Each option is discussed separately.

   • 1. Yes

     • Question 43How should the business be handled?

       • 1. All the children become partners. — Please look through the questions that need to be talked through before entering a partnership, and think about how your heirs would want to answer them (email us to receive the questions).
         • Who will run the business?
           • 1. The same person who has been running it until now.
           • 2. The child or children who are in the business now.
             • Do they get something extra for running the business?
               • 1. Yes — a larger share of the partnership
                 • ✎ What %? — %
               • 2. Yes — a percentage of the profits for running the business
                 • ✎ What %? — %
               • 3. No — Why would he want to keep carrying the whole burden of the business, while sharing the profits exactly like everyone else?
         • Who will distribute the profits to the partners/heirs?
           • 1. The same person responsible for carrying out the will.
           • 2. The one who runs the business.
       • 2. The business is sold, and the heirs receive the money.
         • Who will be responsible for making sure the price is a fair one?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.
         • Who will be responsible for getting it sold?: My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.
         • ✎ How easy is it to find a buyer?
         • Who will run it until a buyer is found? (See the option “All the children become partners”): My wife / My husband · One of the children · Someone else · ＋ Add another person.
       • 3. The child(ren) in the business receive 100% of the business for themselves.
         • What do the others receive to balance this?
           • 1. Other assets
             • What if the business is worth much more?
               • 1. He does not have to pay for it — it is his as a gift.
               • 2. He must pay the difference to the other heirs. (See the option “The child in the business buys it out”)
           • 2. Nothing
         • Does he have to give up anything in return?
           • 1. Nothing
           • 2. His share of the rest of the estate — this much:
             • ✎ How much? — $
             • What happens if by then the business is no longer worth that much?
               • 1. Since he gives nothing extra if it is worth more, he likewise receives nothing extra if it is worth less.
               • 2. If he agrees to hand the business over to the heirs, he can receive a share of the inheritance. (Go back to the question “Do you have a business?”)
         • Does he take on any obligation in return?
           • 1. To pay a parent a salary from the business for the rest of their life.
           • 2. To give a set amount toward every wedding in the family.
           • 3. Nothing
       • 4. The child(ren) in the business buy it out from the others. — The next questions — how to value it, the payment terms — follow right after.

         • Question 44How is the value of the business determined?

           A word from the guide: Several methods can also be combined: one method for the first year (e.g., option #2), then another (e.g., #3), and once profits rise above a certain amount — a third (e.g., #5). See the last option.

           • 1. Wholesale value — #1 — It is calculated as if someone opening a new company bought all the inventory or software at the wholesale price. That is the value of the business. (Debts — both what the business owes and what others owe it — are not included in the sale and are divided separately.)
           • 2. Balance sheet — #2 — Take the figure from the balance sheet, and add back anything that was written off only for tax purposes but still has real value.
           • 3. A multiple of profits — #3 — Total the business's profits over the last three years, adding back the owners' salaries, interest on loans, personal expenses run through the business (cars, charity, and the like), and depreciation on items that hold their value. Divide the total by three to get the average annual profit. Multiply that annual figure by a certain “factor” (a higher factor reflects more stability and is used with higher profits), and add the net value from the balance sheet.
             • ✎ Under $500,000 — multiplied by: — 3
             • ✎ $500,000 to $2,000,000 — how many times? — 5
             • ✎ $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 — how many times? — 7
             • ✎ $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 — how many times? — 10
             • ✎ Over $10,000,000 — how many times?
           • 4. Three experts (highest + lowest) — #4 — Each side appoints one expert, and the two experts together choose a third. All three make separate appraisals. If two experts give the same figure, that is the agreed value. If all three differ, take the highest and the lowest, add them together and divide by two (e.g., 100, 90, 130 → 90+130=220 ÷ 2 = 110).
           • 5. Three experts (the middle one) — #5 — Each side appoints one expert, and the two experts together choose a third. All three make separate appraisals. If two experts give the same figure, that is the agreed value. If all three differ, take the appraisal that falls in the middle of the other two (e.g., 100, 90, 130 → the value is 100).
           • 6. Two experts and an arbitrator — #6 — Each side appoints one expert. If the experts cannot agree, each submits a final appraisal. The matter then goes to the agreed dispute-resolution route, which must choose one of the two appraisals — no compromise in between.
           • 7. Market price — #7 — The value is set according to the prices similar businesses in the same industry sell for.
           • 8. A multiple of revenue — #8 — Total the money the business took in over the last three years and divide by three — that is the revenue figure. The higher the figure, the more times it is multiplied. Add the balance-sheet value to that, and the result is what the company is worth.
             • ✎ Under $500,000 — multiplied by: — 3
             • ✎ $500,000 to $2,000,000 — how many times? — 5
             • ✎ $2,000,000 to $5,000,000 — how many times? — 7
             • ✎ $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 — how many times? — 10
             • ✎ Over $10,000,000 — how many times?
           • 9. A combination of several methods — Several methods can also be combined: one method for the first year (e.g., option #2), then another (e.g., #3), and once profits rise above a certain amount — a third (e.g., #5).
             • ✎ Spell out clearly which method applies when:

         • Question 45Does he have to pay 100% of the value?

           • 1. Yes — in which case he really gets nothing extra.
           • 2. No
             • What % discount does he get?
               • 1. 10 percent
               • 2. 25 percent
               • 3. 30 percent
               • 4. 50 percent
               • 5. It depends on how quickly he pays (caution: a possible interest issue — ribbis).

         • Question 46What are the payment terms?

           • 1. The whole amount right away — meaning the heirs remain partners until it is paid. (See the option “All the children become partners”)
           • 2. The whole amount within 90 days — meaning the business belongs to the child right away, and the money becomes a debt.
           • 3. A deposit within 90 days — meaning the business belongs to the child immediately, a set amount is paid within 90 days, and the rest becomes a debt paid off in installments.
             • How much should the deposit be?
               • 1. Whatever life insurance was set aside for this purpose.
                 • Who receives the insurance payout?
                   • 1. The child
                     • How does he use the insurance money for the payment?
                       • 1. The father gave him the money as a benefit from the business.
                       • 2. From his own money.
                   • 2. The father — In that case it is part of the estate — see the option “The child in the business receives it”.
             • What are the payment terms for the rest?
               • 1. Divide the balance remaining after the deposit into equal installments over the next 2 / 5 / 8 years, with a payment every 3 / 6 / 12 months, until it is paid off.
               • 2. 50% / 75% / 100% of the profits the business earns go toward paying off the debt, until it is paid off.

         • Question 47What happens if a payment is not made on time?

           • 1. All payments made until then become a gift, and everyone is a partner again. (See the option “All the children become partners”)
           • 2. They become partners again, in proportion to what is still owed. (See the option “All the children become partners”)
           • 3. The amount owed is treated as a loan under a heter iska (where permitted).
           • 4. It goes to a din Torah (rabbinical court).
   • 2. No

Chapter 13The obligation (hischayvus)

1. Question 48What amount should the obligation (the “debt”) be for each beneficiary?

   A word from the guide: This “debt” is the halachic mechanism that gives the will its binding force (see the “Obligation to the beneficiaries” clauses in the will document): you obligate yourself to a large sum toward each beneficiary, on condition that if the heirs follow the will, the debt is void. The amount must be clearly more than any share of the inheritance could be worth — in the traditional documents it ranges from $3 million to $100 million, depending on the size of the estate.

   • ✎ $
   • Use the amount you gave as your estate's worth

Chapter 14Disputes

1. Question 49If the heirs cannot agree — where should they go to talk it through, and where should they go if someone has to decide for them?

   A word from the guide: First, they try to reach agreement through a mediator. If thirty days pass without agreement, they proceed to arbitration by zabla (each side chooses one arbitrator and the two choose a third) and sign arbitration agreements (shtarei berurin) with them. If thirty days pass from the notice that no agreement was reached and the arbitration agreements have still not been signed, they are obligated to have the matter judged by the rabbinical court (beis din) — and everyone is bound to follow the ruling; whoever does not comply forfeits his share of the inheritance, and that share is divided among the other beneficiaries.

   • 1. A mediator — Cannot impose a decision — can only try to bring the sides to a common understanding.
     • ✎ Whom would you suggest?
   • 2. An arbitrator — Can impose a decision — meaning the parties give up their own rights in favor of the arbitrator's ruling.
     • ✎ Whom would you suggest?
   • 3. Zabla of laymen (businessmen). — Each side chooses one person and the two choose a third; everyone gives up his rights in favor of the three, and whatever two of the three decide (using their business judgment) must be followed.
   • 4. Zabla of rabbinical judges (dayanim). — Each side chooses one dayan and the two choose a third; everyone gives up his rights in favor of the three, and whatever two of the three decide (according to their understanding of halachah) must be followed.
   • 5. An established rabbinical court (beis din)
     • ✎ Which beis din would you suggest?
   • 6. First a mediator, then an arbitrator
     • ✎ Whom would you suggest?
   • 7. First a mediator, then zabla of laymen (by the arbitrators' judgment)
   • 8. First a mediator, then zabla of dayanim (by halachah)
   • 9. First a mediator, then an established beis din
     • ✎ Which beis din would you suggest?