Over half (55% according to a 2007 survey by Martindale Hubble) of adult Americans do not have a will. In Minnesota, when a person dies without a will, there is an intestate statute which was written by the legislature that controls the distribution of a deceased's estate. Basically, the state has written a will for you, and that statute controls where your assets will go.

With a minimal amount of planning, you can protect assets from having to go to probate, and you can determine where the assets go. There are two instances in particular where people really need wills: to protect minor children in case both parents predecease (die) while their children are still minors, and, in the case of blended marriages, to protect your adopted or biological children's inheritance rights.