What info needed for a will????

[jrnunzio3]

Hi everyone,
What information do I need prior to contacting a lawyer to write up a will for myself and my husband?

I am thinking:
Permission from whomever I want to have Power of Attorney for us.
SS#'s for whom I want to leave some money to (niece & nephew for college)
Name and address of foundations or associations that I want to leave $ to.

What other info is needed?

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[Motherofboys]

I am speaking generally, not for your specific state:

1 - a will covers the disposition of your estate, it doesn't cover power of attorney or health care decisions, you need separate documents for those

2 - you don't need social security #'s for anyone, the only time I ever need one from a client is when I am filing for a taxpayer id for a corporation/LLC they have set up. Your neice/nephews full legal name and addresses should be sufficient

3 - you may want to be more general on the charities since they can and do change names/dissolve.

The name of your executor (and at least one back up is good), how you want your estate distributed, if you need a personal property memo, whether or not you have ever had a will in place.....that should be about all the info you need to get things going.

HTH

 

[jrnunzio3]

I am speaking generally, not for your specific state:

1 - a will covers the disposition of your estate, it doesn't cover power of attorney or health care decisions, you need separate documents for those
Sorry-I meant to say executor of our wills.

2 - you don't need social security #'s for anyone, the only time I ever need one from a client is when I am filing for a taxpayer id for a corporation/LLC they have set up. Your neice/nephews full legal name and addresses should be sufficient. Good to know, now I don't have to search for this info.

3 - you may want to be more general on the charities since they can and do change names/dissolve.

The name of your executor (and at least one back up is good), how you want your estate distributed, if you need a personal property memo, whether or not you have ever had a will in place.....that should be about all the info you need to get things going.

HTH

Thanks for all of your help/info. I am going to try to find a local attorney and set up an appointment.

 

[laurie31]

I just wanted to second the "you don't need SSN" info.

We had wills made when we were expecting DD#1 and we left our estate to be divided equally among all our children. The lawyer said that no matter how many children we had, and whether they were bio or adopted, the will would treat each of them equally. So people don't even have to exist yet, to be mentioned in your will.

The best thing we ever did, though, was get Power of Attorney for each other. We did that (and Living Wills too) when we got the wills, and it has been SO useful! We have been so thankful we got that done. DH and I each have POA for each other, and also our fathers are a back up for each of us.

Good for you for taking care of things now. It's so hard on a family when someone dies without a will.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Wow, funny to see this now. I just emailed my DH (away on business) about wanting to make changes to our will. Things have changed since we made it several years ago (and we made it MUCH later than we should have (we already had all 3 of our children ) after a very unfortunate situation in our town where a mom died of cancer, then 3 years later, the dad drowned...without a will and without making guardianship plans for their children). Now that we have two adult children, I want to change guardianship for my remaining minor. And before DH and I even get in a car together again!

Hopefully others who have been putting it off will read this thread and do it. It's so important to have a will, and should absolutely be done by the time a child is added to the family, if not sooner.

 

[golfgal]

Just a clarification, a will distributes your "stuff" but you need a trust to distribute your money. Make sure you at least have a simple trust set up with the will.

You will also want to figure out how you want your money distributed to your kids. If they are just named beneficiaries on your life insurance policies or your retirement accounts they get all of that at age 18, not a good idea. We have provisions in our will and trust for the kids to get money for college, a small payout for a downpayment on a house and some wedding money but they don't get the bulk of our estate until they are 35. You will also have to figure out what happens to your money and stuff if you all should die (like in a car accident).

 

[laurie31]

That's a great point, golfgal.

Our will established gardianship for our children, and gives them a certain percentage of the estate then (if they are minors when we die) then they get more when they turn 18, and then they get the rest at...um...I think 25 or 26. When they are hopefully old enough to spend it wisely, but that way they will have access to college money and things like that. Also the guardians have access to money to raise them. Heaven forbid, of course!!

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Here are a couple of questions...where do you keep copies of your will? Who has copies?

 

[golfgal]

Here are a couple of questions...where do you keep copies of your will? Who has copies?

We have a copy and our attorney keeps a copy.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

Where do you keep your copies? I mentioned a safe deposit box to DH, and he said he thought it would be sealed upon death? He told me where ours were (I knew where mine was, not his...how dumb is that, since him knowing where his is and not me wouldn't be very helpful if HE died ), and they're really not in very good locations.

Haven't had contact with our attorney since we did our wills, and I think he moved. I need to track him down.

We have a lot of thinking/planning to do.

 

[golfgal]

Where do you keep your copies? I mentioned a safe deposit box to DH, and he said he thought it would be sealed upon death? He told me where ours were (I knew where mine was, not his...how dumb is that, since him knowing where his is and not me wouldn't be very helpful if HE died ), and they're really not in very good locations.

Haven't had contact with our attorney since we did our wills, and I think he moved. I need to track him down.

We have a lot of thinking/planning to do.

That is very possible. We have our with our binder with all our life insurance policies, etc.

 

[Floridagal23]

Hi everyone,
What information do I need prior to contacting a lawyer to write up a will for myself and my husband?

I am thinking:
Permission from whomever I want to have Power of Attorney for us.
SS#'s for whom I want to leave some money to (niece & nephew for college)
Name and address of foundations or associations that I want to leave $ to.

What other info is needed?

Thanks,
Jenny

I practice high end estate planning in nyc. Your attorney will have a meeting with you and will give you a questionnaire or other paperwork to fill out with all the info they need. All you have to do is list everything, but it's a good idea to think about things you'd want prior to your meeting so you're prepared (any specific gifts, where the bulk of things go, who would take your tangible personal property, like house items, who you will give property to, who you'd want as guardian of your children, who you'd like as executor, etc).

The health care documents and any durable powers of attorney you execute are separate documents and you'd need to designate an agent and an alternate agent.


You absolutely do not need a 'simple trust' to distribute funds. It is not always cost effective and many accounts (like IRA accounts or even joint bank accounts) pass by contract designation - who you listed on the paperwork when you set it up. A plain will is fine. Edited again - a trust will help you distribute things "in trust" - like income to someone for life, then at their death, to someone else, or income at X age, Y age, Z age.

 

[golfgal]

I practice high end estate planning in nyc. Your attorney will have a meeting with you and will give you a questionnaire or other paperwork to fill out with all the info they need. All you have to do is list everything, but it's a good idea to think about things you'd want prior to your meeting so you're prepared (any specific gifts, where the bulk of things go, who would take your tangible personal property, like house items, who you will give property to, who you'd want as guardian of your children, who you'd like as executor, etc).

The health care documents and any durable powers of attorney you execute are separate documents and you'd need to designate an agent and an alternate agent.


You absolutely do not need a 'simple trust' to distribute funds. It is not always cost effective and many accounts (like IRA accounts or even joint bank accounts) pass by contract designation - who you listed on the paperwork when you set it up. A plain will is fine.[/QUOTE]

Not that I practice high end estate planning but this is all well and good if one spouse dies but it does not address the issues if both parents die leaving minor children since they cannot be a beneficiary of a life insurance policy or IRA, etc. Then if you name another adult as the beneficiary you run into gift tax issues if they give the money to the kids. I have to STRONGLY disagree that you don't need a trust when you have minor children.

 

[Floridagal23]

I am not disagreeing with you there. That is why money is left "in trust" for minors. There are even federal statutes recognized in most states (with state counterparts) like the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (and Uniform Gifts to Minors Acts) that require some kind of custodian of the funds. This is dependent on what statute your state adopts, but all states have a version of it.

I was looking at your statement "Just a clarification, a will distributes your "stuff" but you need a trust to distribute your money. Make sure you at least have a simple trust set up with the will." You can absolutely distribute money by will - that statement is not correct. A trust is not just for money and a will is not just for tangibles. BUT - to clarify -

If you have minor children, you either need to leave funds in trust or with some kind of custodian. This is a matter of state law. If a trustee isn't appointed, the court will appoint one for this purpose after you die. Your attorney will likely draft a simple will that pours over your assets into a trust for distribution completely through that vehicle. Alternatively, you will have a simple will (depending on your assets) that has a provision that any share or portion set aside for a minor will be held by your trustees in trust for them. The will will name a trustee and successor trustee in case the first can't or won't be a trustee when the time comes.

Hopefully I have made myself more clear, and golfgirl, thanks for pointing out that we need to plan carefully when we have minor children involved.

 

[golfgal]

I am not disagreeing with you there. That is why money is left "in trust" for minors. There are even federal statutes recognized in most states (with state counterparts) like the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (and Uniform Gifts to Minors Acts) that require some kind of custodian of the funds. This is dependent on what statute your state adopts, but all states have a version of it.

I was looking at your statement "Just a clarification, a will distributes your "stuff" but you need a trust to distribute your money. Make sure you at least have a simple trust set up with the will." You can absolutely distribute money by will - that statement is not correct. A trust is not just for money and a will is not just for tangibles. BUT - to clarify -

If you have minor children, you either need to leave funds in trust or with some kind of custodian. This is a matter of state law. If a trustee isn't appointed, the court will appoint one for this purpose after you die. Your attorney will likely draft a simple will that pours over your assets into a trust for distribution completely through that vehicle. Alternatively, you will have a simple will (depending on your assets) that has a provision that any share or portion set aside for a minor will be held by your trustees in trust for them. The will will name a trustee and successor trustee in case the first can't or won't be a trustee when the time comes.

Hopefully I have made myself more clear, and golfgirl, thanks for pointing out that we need to plan carefully when we have minor children involved.

I think we are talking about the same thing then. Inside our will we have a simple trust, it is about a page and a half that establishes a trust that does nothing until we both die. The beneficiaries of all our retirement plans, life insurance lists the opposite spouse as direct beneficiary and the contingent beneficiary as our trust.

Also, under the UTMA/UGMA, don't kids gain control of these at 18 or 21?

 

[Floridagal23]

Yes, absent any other provisions (IE a trust) setting out a different age for distribution.

 

[jrnunzio3]

I need to look into a few issues brought up here tomorrow. I have to figure out who we have as beneficiaries on our GUL policies (I think my nephew), but want to be sure (I bought these policies in my early 20's and can't remember).

We don't have any children, so that should make drawing up a will a little easier (which is why some $$$ would be left to niece/nephew).

Thanks to everyone for their input.
Jenny

 

[Dan Murphy]

Very specific, correct language and provisions are necessary for IRA/other qualified funds that have a trust as a beneficiary, so as to not lose the valuable stretch provisions afforded named beneficiaries of such funds. Even then, younger beneficiaries of a trust obtaining qualified funds may be at some disadvantage if there are older beneficiaries also. Not saying a trust for such funds is wrong, just that careful planning, and forethought is necessary.


(not to be taken as financial nor legal advice)

 

[lvanleer]

I agree with the lawyer who stated you do not need a trust to distribute funds.....my parents never set up a trust....they just specified in their will how the monies would be distributed at different ages by the guardian named in the will.....of course it didn't matter because they didn't pass away until I was 46....in addition I would never keep the original will in a safe deposit box but some kind of safe at home....JMO from what my parents did.

 

[manning]

I am speaking generally, not for your specific state:

1 - a will covers the disposition of your estate, it doesn't cover power of attorney or health care decisions, you need separate documents for those

2 - you don't need social security #'s for anyone, the only time I ever need one from a client is when I am filing for a taxpayer id for a corporation/LLC they have set up. Your neice/nephews full legal name and addresses should be sufficient

3 - you may want to be more general on the charities since they can and do change names/dissolve.

The name of your executor (and at least one back up is good), how you want your estate distributed, if you need a personal property memo, whether or not you have ever had a will in place.....that should be about all the info you need to get things going.

HTH

She's right, power of attorneys end when you die. Then the will takes over.