Lawyers and Wills
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littlelysser
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Independent Gal
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That''s what I was thinking, Lysser. It would be hard for one of my siblings to be all "I WANT MY SHARE!" On what grounds would they make a claim like that, even if they ''would'' do so, morally speaking. And if, heaven forbid, we were both killed at once, it would all be done even steven.
Still, I''m looking into it!
Still, I''m looking into it!
Keepingthefaith21
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Litigator Chick said it perfectly! I worked as a Trust and Estates paralegal and I can tell you that there is most certainly a difference between DIY kits and the real deal drafted by an attorney. At my firm we typically charged about $250-300 for a basic will. The entire process took about 30-60 mins of the attorney''s time and about 15-20 mins of my time. We would even hold the original documents in a fireproof vault so people wouldn''t lose their original documents.
While there is no guarantee that a Will will not be contested you certainly want to make sure what you do have is distributed the way you want instead of dictated by the Probate Court especially if you want to leave anything you do have to a charity (which many people do when they have little to split among family members...it prevents disagreements).
Credit sheltering and taxation issues are far better addressed via the creation of a Trust. It doesn''t sound like you are at the point where you need a Trust (hopefully in the future you do though!). If you do decide to have an attorney prepare the documents, it''s a good idea to hash out what you want (i.e if your husband does not survive you, who will recieve your car, home, etc.). If you know who you want to get what it will cut down on time in the attys office and save you some $$ assuming they are charging an hourly rate.
IMHO it''s always good to have an attorney you''ve worked with avalible for questions or referrals to other attys. That being said, I''m probably biased since I''ve spent the last 6 years of my life working for attorneys
While there is no guarantee that a Will will not be contested you certainly want to make sure what you do have is distributed the way you want instead of dictated by the Probate Court especially if you want to leave anything you do have to a charity (which many people do when they have little to split among family members...it prevents disagreements).
Credit sheltering and taxation issues are far better addressed via the creation of a Trust. It doesn''t sound like you are at the point where you need a Trust (hopefully in the future you do though!). If you do decide to have an attorney prepare the documents, it''s a good idea to hash out what you want (i.e if your husband does not survive you, who will recieve your car, home, etc.). If you know who you want to get what it will cut down on time in the attys office and save you some $$ assuming they are charging an hourly rate.
IMHO it''s always good to have an attorney you''ve worked with avalible for questions or referrals to other attys. That being said, I''m probably biased since I''ve spent the last 6 years of my life working for attorneys
littlelysser
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In the US, when folks die their property is distributed according to the will(s) in existence and if there is no will, it will be probated. At which point, there is a certain rule as to how property is distributed to family members. i.e., certain amount to wife, certain amount to kids or parents, if there are no immediate living kin, then to siblings, etc.
As for the what grounds they could do it...lets see here...bringing me back to my bar exam days...but they could argue that there was fraud involved in the drafting of the will, that the decedent was unable to have the intent and capacity to make a will, that sort of thing...
And that concludes my half-a$$ed attempt to remember my estates and trusts class that I took 9 years ago. YIKES!
As for the what grounds they could do it...lets see here...bringing me back to my bar exam days...but they could argue that there was fraud involved in the drafting of the will, that the decedent was unable to have the intent and capacity to make a will, that sort of thing...
And that concludes my half-a$$ed attempt to remember my estates and trusts class that I took 9 years ago. YIKES!
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FrekeChild
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Lets see...the only experience I have with a person dying without a will was a close friend. Her father died at around 49/50 of a random heart attack. He did not have a will but had a million dollar house, and three million dollars in assets (including cars), savings and checking accounts (he had owned a truck customizing company and sold it a few years before). He had divorced L''s mother when L and her brother were relatively young but had not paid child support to L''s mom for some time. L and her brother were both driving cars that would constantly be falling apart, and while they pleaded to their father to give them $ or a new car (he had ten in his possession at the time of his death). But he never did. He remarried about the same time he sold his business and his wife didn''t work because she had her own assets (about a million). When he died his wife immediately tried to start selling off the house, the cars and began putting everything in her name that had been under both names before. L and her brother hired a probate attorney and began the process of suing her to get what they felt was the rightful share. To make a long story short, out of the 4 million dollars, L received $150,000 and her brother $150,000. The wife received $300,000 and the rest was spent on attorney''s fees.
So while that''s a warning story about getting a will even if you think that your demise isn''t imminent, it still paints a nasty picture of what can happen afterwards.
Quote from my dad: $300 dollars for something that''s relatively basic with few assets like a car, house, one or two bank accounts etc.
So while that''s a warning story about getting a will even if you think that your demise isn''t imminent, it still paints a nasty picture of what can happen afterwards.
Quote from my dad: $300 dollars for something that''s relatively basic with few assets like a car, house, one or two bank accounts etc.
goldenstar
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I don''t know if anyone cares, but I just want to point out that having a will does not avoid probate. Probate is the legal process of settling a deceased person''s estate. When you have a will, the property is distributed according to what it says. If there is no will, property is distributed according to the state''s laws (aka intestacy laws). The point of having a will is that YOU get to say how your property is distributed, not the STATE. The state''s laws are not bad laws, but some people want to make their own specifications. State laws focus on giving property to the spouse, children, other blood relatives in a specific order.
Sorry to hijack, just wanted to clear that up because I know there is a common misconception about wills.
Sorry to hijack, just wanted to clear that up because I know there is a common misconception about wills.
LitigatorChick
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LitigatorChick
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Date: 2/6/2008 9:00:41 AM
Author: Independent Gal
We are definitely going to wait until after the wedding to do the wills! I''m just plannin'' ahead.
I''m going to call a few lawyers today to get a ballpark sense of the cost.
Out of curiosity, how often do wills really get contested? I guess I''ve never heard of it ''in real life'', as in, among anyone I know. But maybe I''m naive!
It is not really an issue of the validity of the will being contested, but rather the content of the will. For example, in one reported case in Canada, a will said that his farm land should go to his brother. Problem was, the land was not owned personally, but by the man''s company. The result: the shares in the company (not mentioned in the will), and the land that went with it, fell to the residue, which went entirely to the man''s daughters. The man''s wishes were not executed properly, but the will had to be followed. So it is often an application thing and not a validity thing.
strmrdr
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LitigatorChick
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FrekeChild
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$350 is pretty high priced where I''m at. Of course I''m not looking at a litigation attorney though...
And the whole truck situation was especially messy because the truck company was here in NM, the kids were here in NM, but the man, his house and his wife were all in AZ. So it was a big fat mess, but the attorneys certainly made out well in the end.
And the whole truck situation was especially messy because the truck company was here in NM, the kids were here in NM, but the man, his house and his wife were all in AZ. So it was a big fat mess, but the attorneys certainly made out well in the end.
LitigatorChick
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LitigatorChick
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