The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: retirementbound on May 11, 2012, 08:18:55 AM
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Hello, Mustachians!
I found this Google offer this morning for $15 for Last Will and Testament Legal Document Package (link below), and it got me wondering - how many of you out there have a will set up? What is your opinion on it? And more specifically, on this package offered?
I never thought about this much, but recently a good friend's father passed away unexpectedly and had to deal with a lot of legal BS that she said could have been avoided had he had a will (her parents were divorced so she had to go to court to get power of attorney).
Some personal background, if it matters - I'm cohabitating with my boyfriend, and have no dependents other than a dog, cat and fish :)
https://www.google.com/offers/home?st=!details%2F9431250cc68f8eea%2FRIT7AIZ6YQFNI4EL&utm_source=social&utm_medium=soc-hub&utm_campaign=tw&utm_content=RIT7AIZ6YQFNI4EL#details/9431250cc68f8eea/RIT7AIZ6YQFNI4EL (https://www.google.com/offers/home?st=!details%2F9431250cc68f8eea%2FRIT7AIZ6YQFNI4EL&utm_source=social&utm_medium=soc-hub&utm_campaign=tw&utm_content=RIT7AIZ6YQFNI4EL#details/9431250cc68f8eea/RIT7AIZ6YQFNI4EL)
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Nope.
It's on my to-do list when we have kids (along with setting up a 529, and a few other things). It'll be in the "while pregnant and preparing" phase - wife will work on nesting, I'll work on these sort of items.
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I actually just talked to my real estate lawyer yesterday about a property I'm buying and he reminded me that I need to get a will. I will be calling my estate attorney today since my affairs are complicated enough to demand expert advice.
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Given your circumstances, I don't know that you need one. If you die (heaven forbid) intestate, your state will have rules in place about how your effects will be disbursed; you can check what those are -- likely next of kin, your parents and/or siblings -- and see if you're OK with that. In my state, a hand-written will (I don't think it has to be witnessed, even) is enough. Be aware that (again, in my state, but I think pretty typical) regardless of whether it's the hand-written or the more formal kind, it must be the original, not a copy, that is presented if one is needed (heaven forbid).
(Full disclosure: I do have a will, but I'm at a very different life stage and have a dependent. To take another example, though, my dad, in contrast, doesn't have a will, and as he has basically no assets and would in any case write a will that would mirror the state's rules about dying intestate, I don't worry about that. Not everyone needs a will.)
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That looks like a good deal, assuming a will is all you need to do. I think there's an even cheaper way, however.
Quicken WillMaker Plus is generally reviewed as the most comprehensive and easiest such resource. The software is intuitive, and the included book has like 500 pages of explanation if you need help on a technicality. If your estate isn't complicated, or if you don't want to pay a lawyer and just want SOMETHING in writing, you can do a will, financial and health powers of attorney, living will, etc. all on the same program. It costs about $30 on Amazon, or you can be Mustachian about it- check it out from the local library and use the disc in the back cover to make up all your documents for free (someone please say something if this isn't legal). Then, you just need a notary to sign the documents to make them legal in every state.
I used this program just this week to do a will. My estate is quite simple, but the whole thing took me fewer than 15 minutes.
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No, we don't, but we actually just met with a lawyer last week and are setting up a trust (which includes a will).
We have kid (soon to be kids), and a house, and stuff, and money. We are long overdue.