There is a couple of things you all may want to think of having, a will or a trust depending on your assets (goes to taxation and probate issues), a Living Will which goes to the Schiavo thing, and a Durable Power of Attorney. These documents would facilitate a lot of the process should God forbid tragedy strike. Going to what Still Learning just put, one thing I always tell clients is if you have more than one sibling or person that will inherit, try not to devise the assets, either force a sale of for example the home and let them take in equal shares, or leave the house to one, the bank accounts to the other, ect.
I never really thought Michael Schiavo was a bad guy, while I dont really care one way or the other for Felos, I think Schiavo, Michael was unfairly demonized through all of this. I am sorry, but had that woman for argument's sake been alive in that state, the feeding tube is one of the most painful experiences anyone that has gone through it can tell you about. More importantly, he was her husband, he moved on, sure a lot of us would not have, I dont know if I could, but its not like he was cheating on her, he could have still loved Terry Schiavo and could not bear to keep her in that state any longer. A lot of people say that he somehow caused this but there was never any evidence of abuse. The point to all this is get a will, take the time to meet with an atty, and write up a will so that your last wishes are carried out. Sure it will run you anywhere from $150-$300 or so, but it is so important, it saves so many headaches not just in cases like Schiavo but in devising assets as well. You would be surprised how many family quarrels arise through intestacy.