Question Regarding Estate Planning

[firehawkocean]

My experience with the lawyer who did my will was less than great.

He just used some sort of program to do so (filled in the information for him). The "final" he wanted us to sign had error (we had to point out), and it cost $1200! Meh!

Just wondering, my wife and I have 1.2 million in assets. Some in physical precious metals, 2 homes that we have paid off outright, stocks & bonds, two paid vehicles, and quite a bit of cash. What type of estate planning do we need? A trust?

And yes, I will definitely compare any suggestions here with a better attorney. However, I have found that 10 educated minds in a forum can often trump 1 busy professional. No joke.

[firehawkocean]

Looks like I don't need one yet, because I am 30.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/living-trust-need-unnecessary-30260.html

[feh]

Could you get a recommendation for an estate lawyer who would review your current will? I doubt people on this forum are qualified to answer questions like this.

FWIW - we have a trust set up for our son in our will.

[scfr]

Given your age, just keep what you have now and re-do in 5-10 years or if you have a major life change such as the birth of a child.

[FrugalFish]

Nolo publishes a book with software under the name Willmaker. Great book, and I've heard a few stories of people who've paid high prices to have a lawyer use that exact program.

The book is fantastic. Very thorough in information and things one should think about. For the price (~$30) it is a bargain and then some. Using a lawyer may be a good idea depending on your circumstances, but I'd also recommend getting hold of a book like Willmaker, so you can be your own best advocate. BTW- the book not only includes wills, but trusts, health care directives, power of attorney, etc.

[MonkeyMama]

Looks like I don't need one yet, because I am 30.

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This probably takes the cake for the most ridiculous legal advice I have ever seen in a public forum.

You need to find a lawyer that specializes in multi-state situations. I'd say you'd be crazy to be a California resident and not to have a trust, with that amount of assets. Due to probate costs, and because probate takes FOREVER. But I Don't know how your other state of residence plays into that. It is generally recommended to have a trust if you own any real estate in California (because tends to appreciate quickly). We had our trusts done in our mid 20s because we had children AND highly appreciated real estate.

CA probate may be a moot issue if you are no longer a resident. I don't know - you need a *good* lawyer to get any useful advice for your own situation.

[youngblud]

Afaik wills are subject to probate. Yuck!

We just setup our living revocable trust using legal zoom. They also make it really simple to go back and ammend it. We are about to sign and notarize things. We did our will with them as well, backup!

The hard part is paperwork in funding the trust by changing title names etc.

It's a lot cheaper than a lawyer and we are learning tons.

We even setup an llc for our rental properties owned by the trust. It's not perfect but neither are lawyers and legal zoom is way easier imho.

[QuarterMillionMan]

You should definitely look into developing a living trust document in addition to the will. I had started a thread similar to this topic about a year ago and I recall some posters saying that hiring a probate attorney would be the wisest choice vs. an over the counter store bought software/program such as Nolo. Nolo (2013) had cost about $49 vs. a probate attorney which would have cost $2000. I'm not affilitated to this company in anyway, shape, or form but I'm glad I chose it over an attorney. Also, keep in mind that anything with a title (ie., real estate, vehicle ownership, etc.) needs to be transferred into a trust. The software is easy to use and guides you through the process. I had also posted this newspaper clipping awhile ago indicating that for $699 what you'll probably get is someone inputting your information into the exact same software that you can get for $49.99 and charge an additional $650. The lawyer will probably do the same but charge $1950 more.

[QuarterMillionMan]

This is an informative article pertaining to the subject written by Carol Knowles. Full disclosure: I have used Carol as my LTC insurance person.

http://carolknowles.com/home/cknowles/files/the-estate-11-2012.pdf

[sblatner]

I live in California. I have had both a mother in law and father in law pass away in the past 15 years. Both had wills and trusts. If you are in California and don't have your assets in a trust, you are nuts. We were able to deal with both estates very easily and quickly and cheaply. I think both estates were settled with less than $1500 in legal bills. If the assets had not been in trusts, they would have had to go through probate and that would have taken months and cost a fortune. Probate fees are regulated by laws. They start at 4% of the first $100k and 3% of the next $100k, etc. Lawyers can take these fees by law no matter how much time they spend on the estate. In regards to how fast we took care of my FIL's estate, we sold his condo within a month of when he died. Never would have happened if he didn't have a trust. Didn't have to deal with the courts at all.

If you are not in California, I don't know what your rules are but you should research it.

[jIM_Ohio]

My experience with the lawyer who did my will was less than great.

He just used some sort of program to do so (filled in the information for him). The "final" he wanted us to sign had error (we had to point out), and it cost $1200! Meh!

Just wondering, my wife and I have 1.2 million in assets. Some in physical precious metals, 2 homes that we have paid off outright, stocks & bonds, two paid vehicles, and quite a bit of cash. What type of estate planning do we need? A trust?

And yes, I will definitely compare any suggestions here with a better attorney. However, I have found that 10 educated minds in a forum can often trump 1 busy professional. No joke.

Most attorneys use software, don't hate the player...


You did not state what your goal was, and this is why it is so tough to give advice.

You need a will for certain, health care POA, POA and DNR would also be suggested.

Whether you need a trust or not depends on your goals and how you see your money when you are no longer alive. Think about that...

A financial planner will often consult for 1-2 hours before charging you
Many attorneys charge you the moment you walk in the door.

Ask friends what attorneys they use. If you are in Ohio, I know several GREAT estate planning attorneys, including the one I use.