Making an online will?

[frugalredhead]

So my husband and I have 2 small kids and still don't have a will. We know we need one, we've just put it off because of the expense. I had called one firm a few years ago and they said it would be $600 for us to do our wills (I think that was for both of us, not $600 each, but I can't swear to it). Our will is pretty basic - if one of us dies everything goes to the spouse, and if we both die, everything goes equally to the kids. Obviously the biggest thing would be naming a guardian for our kids if we were to both die in a fiery car crash on date night or something. We have a couple of options.

1. Through husband's company, we can make a will for free through one of the online websites. We had started it once but never finished. I'm reading mixed things about whether or not you should use the do it yourself type kits. But free is definitely attractive!

2. There's a Living Social deal right now for a lawyer in our area, $125 for each of us. But that's still $250.

3. I have a call in to a local law firm who should be calling me shortly with a quote. I am friends with the wife of the lawyer, so I am hoping some name dropping might get me a good deal.


Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[snafu]

You need a will. Don't put it off. The on-line versions are legal if you've had the signatures witnessed correctly and verified. If you started one sometime in the past, I suggest you haul it out and use it as a template to work out all the details. Why not complete the on-line, free, version, and take it forward to a lawyer to make sure it is filled out correctly and includes all your assets and details for care for your children. While focussed you also need an 'Advanced Care Directive' to outline what you want if incapacitated.

I suggest making it your major project for 4th of July Independence Day. Once done, celebrate with fireworks

[maryadavies]

I agree considering my family's situation. Do NOT put a will off. Both my parents died without wills; it was a hassle and a half to get the estate cleared up though it was pretty clear-cut according to GA law.

And yes, make sure you have advance directives and stuff done too. Also from my experience with gran; make your own will kits are pretty good actually. Just make sure you have the signatures done correctly and have a lawyer double check you to be sure it's done right. (she died a month ago, and she got a will done RIGHT after mom died. thank heaven.)

[ua_guy]

getyour****together.org

where **** is a naughty word for poo. Lots of good advice for documents and activities you should do/plan in advance if one of you passes.

[youngblud]

More importantly you need a trust.

A will would be secondary imo.

Legalzoom.com is cheap and thorough!

[Shawie]

Thank you for posting this as it got me thinking and asking questions. Can anyone here elaborate more on wills vs living trust? A co-worker of mine said that might be a better route because in a will lawyers typically get a significant cut.

[snafu]

Shawie, there is a huge difference between a Will, 'Living Will' [now called An Advanced Care Directive] and a Trust or Trust Fund. A Will is a legal document that tells the people you love what you want to do with anything you owned before you passed away. Most people go to a lawyer with a list of what they own [money, bank accounts, retirement benefits, car, house etc] and list of people you want to give assets. Forms for Wills are available on-line to print out, fill out but the issue of signature is tricky. It's best to have legal documents checked for error by a lawyer.

An Advanced Care Directive is also available on line. It tells people close to you and medics what to do if you are too ill to tell them yourself.

A Trust or Trust Fund is controlled distribution of money that you set up for the future. You decide who should be in charge of following your directions. The person in charge gets to charge a fee for their time in minding your money and distributing it. It doesn't have to be a lawyer or a banker or a financial consultant, it the 'settlor' you name. The trust is typically for children under 18 y/o or 21, or grandchildren . You can say the money is for their education or anything you think is important.

If there is no Will, the government is in control of your assets. They decide everything

[ladonnarosso]

My son is 9mo and we just got finished with all our legal documents. We did wills with trusts built in, a healthcare power of attorney, guardianship papers, emergency guardianship papers, and HIPPA releases. During the process of preparing those documents, I learned that here are SO many different things that have to be considered that we don't think about, but that an estate attorney does consider. For instance, if your choice of guardian is married and the couple divorces after you are gone, which person in the couple do you want to be the guardian of your child? Also, if both parents are incapacitated, who will be the emergency guardian to take immediate custody of your child? We crafted all those documents over about a 3 month period, and I feel like we have dealt with a bunch of the "what ifs." It is a huge weight lifted off my chest.

We spent $1800 for all of this. It is a lot of money, but it is worth it for me to have the peace of mind to know that all of those are done exactly right and deal with all of the contingencies that might come up. the lawyer that we are dealing with also will revise those every three years for the rest of his/our lives to account for future changes in our wishes (and other possible future children.)

[97guns]

More importantly you need a trust.

A will would be secondary imo.

Legalzoom.com is cheap and thorough!

i would also recommend a living trust, having a will/trust drawn up can be very tricky. make sure you get a good attorney that knows the ins and outs of it. i have seen several estates dwindle through attorney fees because they were not drawn up correctly.

i have a cousin that is going through an estate battle right now, her husband passed in january and left 95% of everything to her. he is only leaving 5% to his 3 children and they are mad. one child was the executor but he was dropped before passing and a new executor was never appointed. now she has to hire someone to handle that + her attorney is sucking her dry, the trust is bleeding over $2000 a month in these fee's. the children are so mad with the 5% that they will not relinquish their social security numbers to close the trust out, they will string it out and run the trust dry.

[Gary4587]

I want all my savings and property to be donated for charitable purposes.

[deborahclark]

Wills and probate

If a person does not write a Will prior to death their estate is settled according to state probate laws. This prolongs the process as a judge has to oversee the case and confirm an estate administrator to reconcile the estate.

[moneysma]

For me personally, I would rather find an attorney and pay for a will/trust with all of the directives. While it will most likely be more than what you can get online, I like the fact that I know the document was completed by a professional that knows my state's laws and regulations. To me, that is more than worth the cost.

This isn't a knock on online legal documents, just my feelings that they aren't for me.