We Need to make a WILL . Is "Family Lawyer" software enough?.... advice needed asap!!

[cheerbop]

We would like to make a will and wondered if anyone has ever used the "Family Lawyer" software program or other internet programs...???

OR, do you suggest we actually go see a lawyer for this?
How much does it cost typically??

We really just want to do this for naming a Guardian/Guardians for our children.

Thanks so much for any help/advice.

 

[SC Minnie]

We went through a lawyer. I believe it was about $500 for both of us (may have been less than that ). But it was worth my peace of mind.

 

[CEDmom]

We went to a lawyer and did our wills with guardianship. We also did power of attorney. For everything it was about $500.

 

[Disneyglobegirl]

Dh and I did our wills and guardianship and POA this past summer - it was $300 for both of us - I was expecting to pay about $500 - so I was surpised. Maybe call around to get an idea of how much it is in your area. Ours were drawn up pretty quickly.

 

[cheerbop]

Thanks for the quick responses....

So, nobody has tried or knows anyone that has tried the "Family Lawyer" Software and internet things? Another is not a full will but just guardianship called Childguardianship.com

 

[debaudrn]

My DH is an attorney and here are some other things you need to consider:
If something were to happen to both parents what happens to your estate (ie house, cars ...)?
Who handles these affairs?
Then after that is handled is the resulting money then placed in trust for the children? How is it paid out? Yearly, monthly or otherwise?
Is a certain amount put aside for college costs?
Lastly, who then has control over that money?
Just wanted you to be aware of some of the other issues in addition to guardianship that you must think about.
Debbie

 

[Tigger_Magic]

Several years ago I did wills for DW and I using Internet software. Last year we went to a lawyer to re-do the wills and I showed him what I got from the Internet. He said it was barely adequate, basically a boilerplate document. It'd probably pass probate, but most of the time these will not appropriately handle anything more than the most simple estates. In our case, we paid about $850 to have wills, power of attorney, healthcare POA and living wills drawn up for both of us. Even if you think you have a simple estate and don't need much, I'd still talk with an attorney. Ours uncovered a number of issues we never considered and helped us protect everything appropriately.

 

[barkley]

i think it's better to use an attorney who you can talk to face to face and discuss the specific circumstances of your situation with.

one big issue to address is how assetts left will be managed-there are some people who would be ideal for being guardians of a child but their financial ability is the pitts. i saw too many kids on public assistance because while their parents left a substantial estate it was gone fairly quickly due to mismanagment on the guardian's part (it's nice to think that beyond the basics the guardians could use a portion to take the kids on a nice vacation each year but do you want your child's monies to go to paying for the guardian and their 4 kids to go as well?-it happens far to often).

proper structuring can ensure that the specific items you consider basic needs are paid for at an appropriate rate (if you want the kids to go to private school do you care if all of the funds are spent with nothing remaining for college -i.e.-"anything goes-price is no object private school" or would you prefer a comparably priced private education that allows for funds to be available when college rolls around). if you always want your kids to have private medical and dental coverage-spell it out in the will and set up a funding source (saw lots of kids who ended up on medi-cal cuz the guardian dropped the private insurance to free up funds for extra-curriculars-kids did'nt care that they had no dental, orthodonics or vision care).

it's not at all unusual to pick a separate financial guardian vs. physical, but only a good lawyer can help you decide what's best for your individual situation.

 

[DVCLiz]

I wouldn't trust an internet or computer document. It's well worth the few hundred dollars it will cost you to have the expertise of a lawyer. He or she will ask you some questions you never thought of regarding your property, etc. If you leave an estate for your children, you'll have to make many decisions about the funds, as another poster mentioned. Having an attorney familiar with the process and able to give you some real-life examples is SO IMPORTANT, I think. You'll be very glad you got this taken care of!!!

 

[barkley]

i should add that if a person/couple has adult children and is not concerned with guardianship issues they would still do well to utilize an attorney-specif. one that specializes in elder law. an estate set up in the surviving children's best interest may not be the best set up when medicare issues come up for the parent. the few hundred dollars spent on the attny. may prevent the parent from exhausting all of their funds in order to qualify for needed medical services. unfortunatly, sometimes the couple has set things up to benefit the children such that one spouse becomes ill or disabled requiring the exhaustion of all of the funds-leaving the surviving spouse with nothing-let alone nothing to leave to their children.

 

[Sandy V.]

Your children are too precious a commodity to trust to an internet program. Like others have said, a reputable attorney will be able to ask the right questions to make sure that all considerations (financial and otherwise) are made. This isn't a time to "cheap out".

 

[cheerbop]

I appreciate the Honest comments and feedback.
We, well, alot of people, are just not knowledgeable enough on these types of subjects.
Our children are very precious and we want to do the right and best things for them.

Someone told us about that "Family Lawyer" program and to try that. We had never heard of it and thought MAYBE it would be good, but sounds like it may not be...???

Thanks again...all this is very helpful and so appreciated!

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

I’ll echo the previous responses you’ve received. You want to make sure you are pretty specific with your instructions for your children’s guardians. I also agree that it is wise to have someone other than the guardian responsible for the inheritance. There is a lot of paperwork involved in distributing funds from the estate, and the guardian will probably have plenty to do without having to worry about the money.

Give a lot of thought to what the guardian’s needs will be. Is the guardian’s current home large enough to accommodate your children, will they need a larger vehicle, etc…

Make sure the beneficiary designations are current on all your life insurance policies. It’s not uncommon for young couples to take out policies before they have children and designate a parent or sibling as secondary beneficiary. Don’t assume that parents or siblings would put the needs of your children first if life insurance proceeds are paid out to them.

 

[Pooh Crew]

In addition to agreeing with the other "use an attorney" responses, I wanted to add something else to think about. I noticed in your signature that your children are seven years apart. Ours are ten. We spelled out that our estate was not to be divided amongst our children until our youngest was 21 to ensure that everyone got their college paid for. We did not feel it would be fair for our oldest to get her share at a specific age and then have the estate continue to pay out for our four other children then have just that remaining amount divided amongst the younger ones when they reached a majority age. Does that make sense? If we have put her through college and then we die, she should be able to support herself while the younger ones will need assistance for at least ten more years. This way, everyone gets the same financial support: college and then their share of whatever is left. Just something to think about since the kids are seven years apart.

 

[cheerbop]

In addition to agreeing with the other "use an attorney" responses, I wanted to add something else to think about. I noticed in your signature that your children are seven years apart. Ours are ten. We spelled out that our estate was not to be divided amongst our children until our youngest was 21 to ensure that everyone got their college paid for. We did not feel it would be fair for our oldest to get her share at a specific age and then have the estate continue to pay out for our four other children then have just that remaining amount divided amongst the younger ones when they reached a majority age. Does that make sense? If we have put her through college and then we die, she should be able to support herself while the younger ones will need assistance for at least ten more years. This way, everyone gets the same financial support: college and then their share of whatever is left. Just something to think about since the kids are seven years apart.

WOW! I never thought of that! Thanks so much...
we are currently trying for another and that will make (if it happens soon...cross fingers) the oldes 9 years from the youngest...
THANKS so much....

 

[Dan Murphy]

Another thought on Pooh Crew's thoughts, is to maybe have a portion paid out, then a few years later, another, and a few years later, the remainder. This is called a sprinkle provision in the trust. It helps prevent the kids from blowing all their money with a single distribution. They would have the opportunity to 'appeal' to the trustee for a valid reason for premature distributions if needed. An attorney can fully explain.

And be sure to discuss the guardianship idea with those you are thinking to be guardians.

(not to be considered legal advice)

 

[safetymom]

I think an internet will or software is better than no will at all. My mother had hers hand written on a piece of graph paper and it went through probate with no problems at all. Would I recommend doing that? No but at least we had something.