Estate planning

[cpparrot]

A recent death of a friend has got me thinking I need to get my act together in regards to estate planning. Does anyone have experience writing a will or other relevant documents through the online documents services? Is it worth it to see an attorney to do the same thing? If so, how much should I expect to pay for this service?


A few details about me that might be relevant, I am 40yrs old. I have been with my partner for 4 years, but the state I reside in does not recognize same sex unions. Most of our assets are in my name.

[jpg7n16]

I tend to view online do-it-yourself wills as the webmd of legal advice. Yes it can have some good info, yes it may in fact be exactly what you're looking for. But no, you should not stop seeing your doctor because you read an article on webmd - there may be a completely different diagnosis that an experienced doctor would recognize that you would not.

Same goes for online wills and trusts - sure it could work out, but I'd rather just go to a lawyer in the first place.

The Problem with LegalZoom — Texas Wills and Trusts Law Online

http://altmanassociates.com/wp-conte...angers_HD1.pdf

Especially in your case where you are having to deal with a non-traditional lifestyle choice. The laws could vary significantly by state for wills, and you should definitely speak to an estate attorney in your area to ensure your plans are made legal.

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Also consider this: say you determined that you needed a trust to ensure your partner had income for life to be taken care of. Great. You know you need a trust. And online sites have trust documents. So, which trust best suits your needs?

Revocable or Irrevocable?
QTIP Trust
Power of Appointment Trust
Bypass trust
Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
Charitabel Remainder Unitrust
Pooled income fund
Charitable lead trust
2503(b)
2503(c)
Crummey Trust
Irrevocable Life insurance trust

Do you know enough to know which type you're getting if you use say legalzoom? They have a living trust, but does it do what you want?


My point is, even if you were able to get the document created, do you know enough to know that it was the right document for you?

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How much will it cost? That depends on how complicated your estate situation is. (Ex-spouse? yes it happens to others in your situation, children?, adopted children?, dependent family members?, etc.) The more complicated the situation gets, the more costly the legal services are.

You can expect at least a couple hundred to have an attorney prepare a will - and make sure it's an estate attorney.

[JoshuaHeckathorn]

Go with an estate attorney. It won't be cheap, but this is the kind of stuff you want to do right the first time. A full estate plan (will, trust, power of attorney, health care directive, etc.) will probably cost about $2,000, but the fees can really be all over the board depending upon where you live and how complicated your situation is.

[cpparrot]

Thank you for the detailed replies. I have no clue as to the difference between the trusts you listed out. It will help me convince my partner we need to meet with an estate attorney. I plan on finding one that has knowledge of LGBT issues. There are several within an hour drive.

Our situation is not very complicated. No ex-spouses, no children or other dependents. I am not sure what else to consider.

Any other advice would be appreciated. I am very glad I decided to post on here. I asked around between work and friends and received mostly blank stares.

[SnoopyCool]

Having just lost my FIL, here's two things I've learned that I'm comfortable enough with to share:

-See an attorney. As illustrated in above posts, every situation in unique and needs attention by a professional.
-Go ahead and make sure that your bank accounts are Payable on Death to whomever you wish to leave them to. This makes those accounts tax-free to them on your death, and they avoid probate.

HTH

[nick__45]

Originally Posted by SnoopyCool

Having just lost my FIL, here's two things I've learned that I'm comfortable enough with to share:

-See an attorney. As illustrated in above posts, every situation in unique and needs attention by a professional.
-Go ahead and make sure that your bank accounts are Payable on Death to whomever you wish to leave them to. This makes those accounts tax-free to them on your death, and they avoid probate.

HTH

If you know what you want as far as who gets what, then it's useless to get a lawyer that would love to drag it out and taxes the top. Just keep it simple and let your spouse and kids get everything, evenly divided, or give them a option to negiotiate among themselves. For example, if you have 2 kids and one of them want to keep the vacation house then he should have an option of compensating the other sibling for the other half or they can have joint ownership with joint financial responsibility to keep it in good shape. If you bring a lawyer into it, you'll be seeing fees to sell it, process money/proceed, and more.

Whatever you do, don't give money to charities or friends or even a relative in your will. If your family see fit, they'll give to them but don't drag an outsider into the mess. Spouse, kids, and siblings are the only people who should get your money.

[MonkeyMama]

I am a tax professional and see SO MANY unintended consquences when proper legal advice is not sought.

I recently replied in another thread that the one thing I would never scrimp on is legal advice.

I would say this to ANY ONE.

Considering your situation, it is extra so.

It won't be cheap, but you will save your loves ones time and money if you do it right. I generally see these online wills as extremely penny wise and pound foolish. I think it's hard to appreciate the cost of this type legal advice because you generally will never see the benefits of a good estate plan and the downfalls of a bad one. But, believe me, your loved ones will be there - and a bad estate plan can really make their life hell.