Do You Have A Will...

[Lynn CC]

or a Trust?
DH and I don't, I know it's something we have to get (ASAP), but we keep putting it off. We only have one son, so things shouldn't be too complicated.
I listen to Suze Orman and she says you can do it yourself through her website if you order her materials. Anyone ever do this? Did you hire a Lawyer? (we were hoping to wait until our DS passed the bar in 6 years, in order to avoid the legal fees!!! (LOL).

I do hope we are not the only people in our early 40's without a will yet, I think we will feel better when it's done, so that's my goal by the end of this year!
Please tell me what you did to get everything "in place", Thanks

 

[DVCLiz]

I saw an attorney. I know there are "do it yourself" kits out there, but I just wouldn't trust that it could be as comprehensive as I needed it to be, so I would never go that route. I wanted to establish a trust for my minor children, and I needed the advice of an attorney in order to understand what all my choices were. As well, the attorney had practical experience with other people she had helped, so I had the benefit of some experience I didn't have.

I also had some work-related life insurance, so the attorney advised me on things like getting the beneficiary changed using the language created by the new trust. I just felt so much better knowing it had been done by a professional. But that may be just me - I always use a professional for anything tax or money related!!!

DO GET IT DONE NOW - I think it's amazing how many people put this off. It can cause so many problems later, even if you think your case is cut and dried. It's MUCH less stressful to your heir(s) if you've prepared this in advance.

 

[chrissyk]

We have wills (recently updated), durable powers of attorney, healthcare surrogates, living wills, and we're in the process of doing the trusts. I would NOT do any of this on my own, but that's just me. I want to know that it was done right. BTW, I ordered a book on trusts from half.com just so I could approach the process in an educated manner. Otherwise, I wouldn't have understood what our lawyer was talking about.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Suze is in the business of selling tapes and books. See an attorney, one who works in the field of estate planning. And yes, we have wills, trust.

(not to be taken as financial or legal advice)

 

[luvmy2sams]

We had our wills and guardianship papers drawn up after DD was born 6 years ago, and we updated them when DS was born in 2003. Our lawyer said that it was very straightforward paperwork, and he would feel like a thief if he charged us for his time. We were quite pleased with that because we'd been prepared for a hefty bill.

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

Drawing up wills is still on our To Do list. Having a will is something we should have seen to 14-15 years ago, but we are young and just don't think about it at this stage in our lives - though after recent national and world events it's become more apparent that anything can happen to anyone at anytime.

 

[Disney Doll]

I don't have children, but DH & I made out a will a few years ago after the way we watched one of his sisters behave when his parents died.

We have things very clearly spelled out, so there can be no question of our intentions for our things.

 

[icebrat001]

I am only 22 and my partner is 21. Once we BOTH finish medical school, we will get wills, because that's about the time we will beginning aquiring a home, thinking about a family and what not.

So nope, no wills for us, not yet...

 

[SunFloridaDisney]

We had our first will drawn up by an attorney when our first DD was born. Had it updated after that, but probably should update it again soon. Thanks for reminding me!

 

[Galahad]

We have them both. We are 50. We've had wills for 25 years but set up the trust abour 5 years ago. We used Quiken Lawyer to set up the initial format and then reviewed it with an attorney. It's not too difficult.

 

[WDWMom]

We saw an attorney. It cost $400 for a will, living will, power of attorny and custody for our kids. We didn't think it was bad for all we got.

 

[snoopy]

Absolutely! Have had them since shortly after we got married and updated them once we had kids. We also went through an attorney, who charged us a few hundred dollars.

 

[malibuconlee]

DH and I had wills drawn up a year or two ago. We also had Durable Power of Attorneys drawn up with each other as main and DH's father as the back-up for both. That really surprised the attorney, but since we lived out of state, I think his dad would be the first to show up if something happened to us (my father is deceased, my mother is ill, and my brother, well, he doesn't make the best decisions, or have the money to travel. Whereas FIL was in law enforcement for 30 years. I trust him to make decisions like this)

We should have done a new one up when we bought the house last year. And we should re-think it because our beneficiaries after each other are DH's nephews. His sister has had a baby and mine is going to have one.

It cost less than $500 to do it. I want to say closer to $350, but it's nice to know it's there. The originals are in DH's parents lock box at the bank my MIL works at. We have copies in our fire safe.

 

[malibuconlee]

Oh, I also wanted to add a couple of things. We are 30 and 32 yo.

Funny will story. DH's parents last did their will during the first gulf war. DH was 17 and his younger sis was about 14 when FIL was activated to Germany.

In their will they stated that if anything happened to both parents the kids would go live with their aunt and uncle. They have never updated that will.

So, I always ask that if they die and DH has to go live with Uncle Mike and Aunt Donna if they'll let me and the dog come too. They'll have a full house once my SIL, her husband, two kids and cat come as well!!

 

[DVC-Don]

We have a will that we update every 2 or 3 years. We use an attorney as ours gets kinda complicated with owning a business and trusts for the kids.

And yes, our DVC contracts are listed with which goes to which kid.

 

[Lynn CC]

I just called to set up an appointment with our attorney!
I know we will both feel better once it's all set, Thanks for sharing!

 

[sweet angel]

I work for an attorney, so I did my own. It's simple and straightforward, so no need for fancy language.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

Dh and I did wills when we got married, bought our house, cars etc and life insurance. Our attorney told us it is something to update when we have children as well as trusts etc.

 

[Bob Slydell]

We had one drawn up by an attorney for a couple hundred bucks after DS1 was born. We have to update it now that DS2 is here, but otherwise, we're good.

 

[deelam]

I got a do it yourself will kit from Comp USA for $9.99. It was pretty straight forward, fill in the blanks type thing. I then took it to a mail boxes UNLT were they have a notery.

My Grandmom hand wrote her will and had it noterized, it worked just fine when she died.