Author Topic: Will  (Read 3614 times)

wkumtrider

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Will
« on: July 24, 2017, 06:03:57 PM »
Has anyone created a will using an online service?  I was told Legalzoom is pretty good.  I appreciate any and all recommendations and advice!

iris lily

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Re: Will
« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2017, 09:33:45 PM »
I wouldnt even thnk of that, especially if
I had any assets of size or dependants.

Why do you want a will? i mean, other than the reason that everyone says you should have one.

You state will have directives as to how to handle your assets should you die without a will. That may be good enough for you rather than ising a boilerplate form.
« Last Edit: July 24, 2017, 09:35:37 PM by iris lily »

wkumtrider

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Re: Will
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2017, 05:45:51 AM »
I guess I want a will so my assets will not end up with certain family members.  I am married and do not have kids.  If my wife and I both die in a horrible accident, I want to make sure my stuff goes to specific people.

Sibley

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Re: Will
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2017, 08:49:38 AM »
Also, depending on which family members you object to, it may not be an issue anyway. Same with the assets.

Make sure you've designated beneficiaries on all applicable financial accounts, insurance, etc, and update if necessary. That stuff bypasses the will, etc. You may find that what's not covered by bene designations is pretty small.

Krolik

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Re: Will
« Reply #4 on: July 25, 2017, 08:54:50 AM »

wkumtrider

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Re: Will
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2017, 11:32:56 AM »
Thanks everyone for the replies.  I will check out the thread Krolik had in his post.

COEE

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Re: Will
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2017, 09:57:16 AM »
I know I'm late to this thread but...

I recently had our wills/POA/living wills/etc done.  I had a voluntary benefit through work for some amount of free legal services/counsel for $20 a month.  That $20 for two years was about $480.  The lawyer said the wills for the two of us were about $1800.  I didn't spend a dime directly to the lawyer.  Total saved - $1320.  Only regret - not getting the wills done the first year I enrolled in the service - I would have saved more and could have dropped the benefit the second year.

COEE

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Re: Will
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2017, 10:13:08 AM »
One other thing you should think about is whether you are going to have kids.  If you are, you will need to change your will after they are born.  So you should wait if you are having kids soon.

Also, IMHO, waiting to get your will done, for any reason, is silly.  If you don't want someone getting your assets, act now.  Even if you have designated beneficiaries, depending on your state, they could still go after your assets in probate.

I once waited to refinance my house because we were going to move.  5 years later we moved.  I cringe to think about how much money I could have saved if I had refinanced.

Our lawyer was very good at writing our wills such that if we were to have any more children, that our assets would still be distributed in the same way as our current child.  If you're thinking about having children, the lawyer could write the will to cover any future direct heirs.  Even if you don't plan to have children, I'd think you'd want to have some plan in your will to cover any potential kids.

A good will should last 10+ years.  I suspect our current will to last the rest of our lives, 50+ years, unless we decide we want to change some details or other people in the will don't survive us.

wkumtrider

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Re: Will
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2017, 10:43:45 AM »
Thank you COEE.  I did not think about looking to see if my workplace EAP can assist.  I will look into it.

MsSindy

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Re: Will
« Reply #9 on: August 08, 2017, 12:43:40 PM »
If you don't have anything available through work, be sure you shop around a bit.  We're married with no kids, but did not want our parents to get our assets should we pass before them, thus a Will (and all the other POA stuff).  It costs us less than $700 for both Wills and all other POAs.  I thought it was money well spent, piece of mind, etc.   Also, we now have a named Executor and he has all of our details to settle our estate (which will be a pain to dismantle as we have investments in various channels).

We thought about LegalZoom as well, but I just didn't want to leave it to chance, and we have a pretty sizable nest now that we're nearing retirement.  If I were still twenty-something with hardly any assets, maybe I wouldn't have been so concerned.

Best of luck!

mandy_2002

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Re: Will
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2017, 07:53:33 AM »
I know I'm late to this thread but...

I recently had our wills/POA/living wills/etc done.  I had a voluntary benefit through work for some amount of free legal services/counsel for $20 a month.  That $20 for two years was about $480.  The lawyer said the wills for the two of us were about $1800.  I didn't spend a dime directly to the lawyer.  Total saved - $1320.  Only regret - not getting the wills done the first year I enrolled in the service - I would have saved more and could have dropped the benefit the second year.

I did this through my company.  For me it was about $0.50 per month, so for $6, I got a personalized will.  I'm not married and wanted to make sure the people who the state thinks my money should go to  (parents) did not get a dime if I passed away.  Now the money is split between my nieces and nephew and children of a very good friend of mine.  Totally worth $6. 

PepperPeter

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Re: Will
« Reply #11 on: August 09, 2017, 07:59:39 AM »
One other thing you should think about is whether you are going to have kids.  If you are, you will need to change your will after they are born.  So you should wait if you are having kids soon.

Also, IMHO, waiting to get your will done, for any reason, is silly.  If you don't want someone getting your assets, act now.  Even if you have designated beneficiaries, depending on your state, they could still go after your assets in probate.

I once waited to refinance my house because we were going to move.  5 years later we moved.  I cringe to think about how much money I could have saved if I had refinanced.

Our lawyer was very good at writing our wills such that if we were to have any more children, that our assets would still be distributed in the same way as our current child.  If you're thinking about having children, the lawyer could write the will to cover any future direct heirs.  Even if you don't plan to have children, I'd think you'd want to have some plan in your will to cover any potential kids.

A good will should last 10+ years.  I suspect our current will to last the rest of our lives, 50+ years, unless we decide we want to change some details or other people in the will don't survive us.

This isn't really accurate.  A good will will last as long as your circumstances OR the law remains the same.  I'm a trusts and estates paralegal, and I can't tell you how many nightmare estates I've probated because someone created a will or a trust and didn't update them for 20 years.  Laws change substantially over time, particularly in estate planning.  You should check with your attorney every 5 or so years just to make sure nothing has changed in the law that would substantially affect your estate plan.