Mustachian ways of creating a will?

[MVal]

Do you all have wills for the most part? Should I get one if all I have of value are my retirement accounts and I've already designated beneficiaries on those? What is the most cost effective way to create a will?

[Imma]

I can't give you legal advice as I'm in a different jurisdiction, but when we went to create a will, they gave us a simple questionnaire to take in, with questions like these:

- Who do you want to be your heir?
- If that person happens to predecease you, who do you want as a an heir?  ( don't think 'oh, i'll think of that when it happens. for example, if you're a couple, you could well have a car accident with one person dying straight away and the other 6 weeks later in hospital)
- Are there any blood relatives you want to exclude?
- If you're married without kids, do you want to give all your relatives the same share of your estate, or do you give half of your estate to 'his' side of the family and half to 'her' side of the family?
- Do you foresee anyone challenging your will?

I think it's almost always better to leave a simple will then to leave nothing at all. If you have left a will, even if it's just "John gets everything" and everything is $1000 and your furniture, no one will have to question if that was what you really wanted. It will give everyone peace of mind.

For myself, my partner and I own joint property that we have legally excluded from our estate. It means that my share of the property will automatically be his when I die, no matter what's in our wills. We did that on purpose because we didn't have a will yet when we bought it and we wanted to make sure one of us wouldn't be left with owning only half of their own primary residence.

He's now also my full heir which means he inherits everything and the other way round. As we don't have children, when the last person dies, half of our estate goes to his only sibling and parent and the other half will go to my siblings and parent. We have both excluded one parent from our will explicity. We were told it's not common to leave anything to the generation above you, but our parents haven't provided for themselves so they could use the money.

We also have what's called a 'living will' in here - basically a medical power of attorney to make it absolutely clear my partner is the next of kin. The parent who's excluded from the will tried to challenge that in the past.

[Kl285528]

Check with your bank or credit union. Our credit union offered a very cost effective service, where a lawyer prepared a will, medical power of attorney, living will, etc. for a small fee.

[COEE]

I had secondary insurance from this place through my work:  https://www.legalplans.com/

I was able to choose from about 10 lawyers in the area.  We interviewed two or three lawyers over the phone, filled out some online paperwork, spent a few hours with the lawyer we chose to use on the phone, and went in to their office once to sign papers.  The whole process took 3 months or so.

We spent $20/mo for two years on the plan.  We used the service for our home purchase and to ask some questions about some other legal issues we were in during that two year period.  We were told that the wills, poa's, etc would have been $1800 if we didn't have the insurance.  We didn't pay a dime out of pocket for any of the services.  Highly recommended.

I didn't think about going through our credit union - that may have been a option as well.

I used to attend a church that offered free wills once a year or so.

[BFGirl]

Go to an attorney to advise you.  Don't use a form will off the internet.   When I was in private practice, I made far more money dealing with the issues of those who tried to DIY their wills/estate planning than I ever did with those who paid to have a will correctly drafted.

[Erica]

Do you all have wills for the most part? Should I get one if all I have of value are my retirement accounts and I've already designated beneficiaries on those? What is the most cost effective way to create a will?

For the record, designated beneficiaries on retirement accounts over-ride wills/trusts. There is no human attorney involved so nothing can get screwed up. They get their funds quick and easy.

If that is all you truly own, then you've done what you need to do for now. But your State laws may be different than mine...here in California

You can also add a beneficiary onto a bank accounts. Add beneficiaries like crazy to everything you can, don't let it be part of a will or trust.

My FIL's Trust was screwed up. Not too bad but still. And my Uncles Trust had issues that would've costed more money had I allowed the lawyer to take over the trust (they created)..after his death. Both are reputable attorneys in business for years with large well known firms.

We just received copy of my FIL amended trust. This is 2 months after the original copy of the trust was sent. We did a budget already which took time. And contributed extra $$ to retirement accounts. Now we've learned we are getting 100K less because his brother was added in. How the attorney didn't notice the amendment and send the correct copy initially is beyond me.

I know Trusts are big thick books but there are certain areas items are placed in these books. The broiler plate layout is similar.

So glad I didn't involve an Attorney (as Trustee) regarding my Uncles trust. Saved alot more than 3K which he quoted. It would've been even more stress & money because of their own actions. Luckily the Attorney let me know ahead of time what he would do via the free consultation which came with the cost of creating the Trust. He stressed having to meet certain deadlines, notifying certain people. Instead I grabbed a NOLO Wills/Trusts book and all was fine. Also googled my state with everything since states differ.  But I had to get an Attorney consult to get the House thru. Luckily found a very knowledgeable Attorney nearby who sort of specializes in that. Consulted w/him over the phone for 45 min and I sent a check for $300

At some point as you accumulate wealth, I'd consult an estate attorney and CPA. You'll need ensure you are on the right track.

Your beneficiaries may endure tax consequences so your decisions may impact them more or less so if you can understand their finances to some degree, it might help with setting it up to their advantage. Maybe even adding them on to the house or property before your death is the right choice, it's difficult to know.

Try to keep everything you can out of a trust/will and otherwise being designated as a beneficiary so as to not have anything messed up. JMHO :)

[Snowman99]

It's not just the will you need to think about, it's an Estate Plan.  You can designate your beneficiaries on your various investment accounts, but you also have to think about the impact of estate taxes. 

You should meet with an estate planning lawyer.  If you do it on the cheap, you will get what you pay for.  The important thing to note is that if your estate is worth over $5MM, you can get hit hard with federal taxes if you do not utilize estate planning techniques like marital trusts, etc.  You also have to keep a look out for your particular state tax laws, which can can impact estates worth far lower.  A proper estate planning attorney will know what to do based on your situation.

Even if you don't have a high value estate, it is more likely than not that you eventually will.  Also, if you have children you will want to designate who you leave them to in case you and your spouse get in a plan crash or something.

There are also things to consider like whether or not you want a "living will" or designate certain persons to ask on your behalf in case you are incapacitated, etc.

[Larsg]

Check out Intuit's Willmaker Plus here https://store.nolo.com/products/quicken-willmaker-plus-wqp.html

They do tax and sm to medium bus accounting apps pretty well so this may be worth checking out.

[I'm a red panda]

We created a will because we needed a trust set up for our daughter. I found out that if she is a beneficiary on my accounts the state holds the money, as a minor can't receive property. By making the estate the beneficiary, then my estate holds the money instead.

We used a MetLaw plan available through work. The annual cost of the plan is less than the cost of drafting the will. We'll just have the plan for one year, then cancel.

[EarthSurfer]

+1 for using an attorney and working through an estate planning checklist.

Remember the majority of Americans have little in the way of assets, and a simple will is probably adequate. As a Mustachian, your financial life is far more complex, and you should spend more than just an evening filling out a will template. The cost should be well under $1000, unless you are in a state with complex estate laws like California. 

Like it or not, documents that are from an attorney's office which are "bound," fully witnessed and notarized are almost always accepted without challenge. I'm sure things get a bit more complex when surnames don't match, or someone is not a family member, but I had no significant problems when settling my grandparents' and father's estates.

I paid about $500 (Mississippi) ten years ago to have simple wills, powers of attorney, and appropriate medical care documents drafted for my parents. At that time I also became involved in their financial life, and had them designate beneficiaries for each appropriate account. When Dad passed, the assets transferred seamlessly to Mom, with only a few forms to fill out. All accounts have been appropriately changed, and my brother and I are named where necessary. We should never have to probate the estate.

I have done the same for myself. Being single and living far away from family, having close friends with the appropriate paperwork will make things much easier when the time comes. In my case, I paid $750 (Colorado) to an attorney who specializes in handling some of the issues related to being gay in a time when some legal aspects are still being challenged. Specially, there are friends who know my medical wishes far better than family, and are not encumbered by religious expectations on how things should be handled.

Good estate documents are a gift you give to those who are left behind.

[NeonPegasus]

It depends. Do you have kids? I think that is the main determinant for me.

If you don't have kids, it doesn't much matter if you bungle the will. You'll be dead and anyone getting the money will likely be self-supporting adults who won't rely on it.

If you do have kids, hire an attorney. Our attorney really helped us navigate the relevant issues and also put together advanced directives and powers of attorney for DH and me. You are not necessarily paying the attorney to fulfill the mechanics of putting together a will but rather, to advise you on how to make good decisions regarding the guarding, the trustee, the executor, etc.

[Paul der Krake]

I don't have one. The intestate succession statutes of my state are good enough.

[MrsPete]

Check with your bank or credit union. Our credit union offered a very cost effective service, where a lawyer prepared a will, medical power of attorney, living will, etc. for a small fee.

I was going to say the same thing.  Our credit union offered wills (made through a lawyer) for $350/couple.  It was so much more thorough than the internet-junk we had previously.

What it was not was fast.  We signed up for an appointment, waited about 6 weeks for our first appointment, then waited something like three months for our final appointment.  Still, it was a good deal.

[DebtFreeinPhilly]

For the law enforcement and firefighter members, check out Wills for Heroes. Its a program that offers free will, POA, etc. to active police officers and firefighters. Spouse can get wills done too through this program.