Wills And Other Unpleasant Topics

I am glad you wrote about this because I have been thinking the same thoughts. Recently I heard about legal zoom, a website that does that kind of thing for less than $100. But on the other hand, I also read parts of a book by Suzi Orman who says that you need a trust. I think Jason (above) is on to something. I will be subscribing to these comments and I hope more people chime in with their $0.02.

Oops…also forgot – trusts. Minor children. You must set up a trust for their care. You never know what will happen if something should happen to you. Families that used to get along may not after you die. This is not simple.
While you are at it, don’t forget about POAs. You both need powers of attorney for property and personal care should anything happen to you and you are injured and cannot care for yourself.

Definitely a lawyer. I am with you on wanting to save money, but not if it causes heartache and any kind of doubt in what would be an already difficult situation. Each state’s laws are different regarding estate issues, so what the form says is legal may not in fact be binding at all in your particular jurisdiction. Go for the lawyer. It might seem like a lot now, but it will be worth it should the will ever need to be used.

I’d go the atty route. There’s a lot if/then that could come up.
The atty I had do mine was frugal minded and he has done some things to eliminate greif if the will is implemented.

One thing he had me do was in the event that all my heirs are deceased the money is to go to specific charity. If that Charity is closed/out of business then the money is to go to the United Way(which will hopefully always be around). A co-worker had an Aunt (who had no children ) who died 5 years ago. The Aunt wanted half of her estate to go to the Catholic school she graduated from – the school closed before the money was divided up. Cousins have had the entire thing in court ever since over what to do with the funds. You never know how people will change over the years & what kind of dynamics could surface. That said, such a thing would never happen on my Dad’s side of the family but I could see my Mom’s family causing such greif since my Grandpa (the one who kept everyone in line) died.

One other thing he had me do is is my executor predeceases me & the back up does too then the law firm will become the executor & the fee for the service is already sited in the will as well as another law firms to take the reigns if needed.

The will software tends to not take details into account. My trust will pay for all of my son’s college tuition if he maintains a C average or above in college. He gets some kind of bonus upon graduating and then he gets annual allotments until the money is gone. If he doesn’t go to college then he gets a small chunk when he’s 25 and the remaining sum when he is 45.
There’s also a stipulation that if medical issues arise (that exceed more then 10% of his income if he’s over 18) that the trust money can be accessed then – I got that from my Grandpa’s will. It really helped my Aunt who got cancer.
One other thing to possibly note is that no spouse of your heirs is entitled to any portion of your estate.

Anyway – these are details that the will software didn’t contemplate but the atty knew to keep any eye out for or that I had seen within my own family. I’m sure there’s other things I’m forgetting.

A financial planner might be able to point you to a good atty… and maybe (depending upon your skill set) you could barter part of the legal fee? I built my atty a computer and fixed his laptop – that covered almost all of the fee.

Let’s just say you get what you pay for. Any will is never straightforward. Your situation is unique to you, and no cut-and-paste template will see any loopholes or potential things missed out. There is no guarantees that your family will be 100% on board with your wishes. Death is a very emotional thing for people, and sometimes the worst comes out in these situations. We are currently doing up our wills right now, and our lawyer friend has told us some really bad stories of people who have poorly written wills, never mind no wills. You’ll be surprised how often thing can get contested and how people will fight over your children and their inheritance. It’s just not worth it. Go the lawyer route.

For me, the several hundred dollars spent means peace of mind for us and a good future for our son. I never want my son to be caught up in a legal battle that can last years potentially. The several hundred dollars is an investment for his future, not a liability. That’s how I see it.

just looking at all these answers have confused me even more!

I absolutely suggest you use a qualified attorney! My grandmother used the attorney on staff at the company she worked for to write the will, advance directive, etc. – “one of her perks” at work.

Unfortunately, as things fell apart with her health, so did the paperwork created by the attorney. He had used the term “upon my [her] death” in all the paperwork, which meant that none of her wishes would be considered until her death (of course this was fine with the will, but not with the other paperwork).

Fortunately, a doctor noticed the wording and she recovered enough for us to have things redone, but we could have been dealing with a much larger problem.

I got my frugal streak from her, but will be paying later this spring to have mine affairs ordered by a true professional. Good Luck!

@MAM — just to let you & others know, typically a will package is done on a flat-fee basis, not on an hourly rate. Only super complicated e$tate$ ($$$) may end up with hourly fees, because they’re might be entities or trusts set up to help avoid estate tax down the road.