Comments on: Creating Wills online

By: Lady

Lady — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:03:58 +0000

Bottom line - If you’re creating a legal document (um…hello?? a will!!) see an attorney.

By: moneyloveandchange

moneyloveandchange — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:36:30 +0000

I’d also recommend consulting an attorney. I think that a lot of the online programs are great for creating a general template, but in the end the peace of mind that comes with having it done by an attorney is worth it.

I am not sure if you and your husband may have this option, but my husband has a legal plan through work that he can opt into for a couple hundred dollars a year. One of the benefits of the legal plan is that they will assist you with your will for “free” (I put free in quotes b/c my husband has money taken out of every paycheck). We used the legal plan when closing on our house as well as setting up a will, and didn’t pay a dime. Good stuff!

By: WealthiHer» Blog Archive » Weekend Roundup: Lazy Sunday Edition

WealthiHer» Blog Archive » Weekend Roundup: Lazy Sunday Edition — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 02:54:29 +0000

[...] Creating Wills online - “Being a blended family really confuses things. If my husband and I were to die at the same time, is there a place in the will where I can state I want my kids to go to two different people? My daughter would go live with her dad, and my son would go live with my husband’s relatives.” [...]

By: Girls Just Wanna Have Funds-Personal Finance For Women

Girls Just Wanna Have Funds-Personal Finance For Women — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 23:15:40 +0000

By: Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:06:18 +0000

You get what you paid for. That’s the bottom line. Attorneys are expensive, but they will create a will that not only will comply with the law but that it will also meet the needs of your situation. Standard forms are a no-no. Avoid them as much as you can.

By: Adam Meislik

Adam Meislik — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:56:09 +0000

We’ll allow you to do wills for free with excellent customer service on Legal Onion for the first five people that email me.

By: Ashley

Ashley — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 02:20:27 +0000

LAL: When I met my husband I had $2,000 in credit card debt and a car that had 100,000 miles on it. I suppose she could leave her some of that. haha… I’m just kidding. I see what your saying but no, I didn’t have anything when I got married.

I do see what your saying, even if I were to leave my daughter something right away I would put it aside for her for when she is older. Like 25. There’s no way my ex is getting his paws on it.

By: LivingAlmostLarge

LivingAlmostLarge — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 21:21:56 +0000

Ashley I hate to point out but why does your husband get everything and nothing for your daughter?

Did you bring nothing into your relatioship then? I ask because my mom only has me and if she died, I know that her very old will pre-marriage second time left everything to me, which included a house she bought as a single parent.

She still feels very strongly that assets are 50/50 for her and my dad. And if they died together that the other 3 kids do not get 25% of the whole estate.

Nor should they have claim on a house my mom owns that my grandmother lives in at all.

But I guess this is a reason to consult an attorney.

By: Kim

Kim — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:02:58 +0000

Wow, this is just where I am. My ex passed away suddenly this summer at the age of 52. We have two sons together and their dad didn’t have a will. You cannot imagine the things his mother (who is 72) had to do to get access to his checking account, be able to get information on his mortgage and car loan, and to handle his affairs. What he left for his mother and children to deal with only made their loss greater. By the Grace of God, he did have life insurance and for that I am so grateful. But is will be a long time before his affairs are straightened out due to his lack of having a will in place. I am taking care of this now since I had one but no one would have known where it was. ::sigh:: I’ve used Legalzoom and haven’t had any problems but would gladly pay an attorney now rather than have my loved ones have to pay for it. My ex mother in law had to hire and attorney and it wasn’t cheap. Good topic and reminder for all of us!

Kim A

By: Angie

Angie — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 22:21:45 +0000

With a situation like yours, I would suggest a revokable living trust for you and your husband. You can specify in the trust who will inherit your money, your properties and children, and upon your death (or the death of your husband) your trust becomes locked. That is, your husband will still be able to control all of the assets if he is the beneficiary, but he can not simply take them all out and give them to his kids (current and/or future) while ignoring your daughter. Because she would be one of the beneficiaries of your trust, her portion would be locked up for her benefit. Likewise, should you die first, his trust would be locked and you would not be able to pull out all of the money to give to your children equally - your husband’s portion would be set aside just for your son.

A couple things to think about if you are using wills only though - if you pre-decease your husband, your daughter will be left with nothing. That is the way he’s setting it up. If you want to ensure her inheritance, you will either need to convince your husband to change his will to include her or you will have to put her as a co-beneficiary instead of a secondary beneficiary in your will. Also, assuming your daughter lives with you and has a relationship with your husband, you guys need to think about the psychological impact of having everything left to your son. I’ve seen it happen with friends where there is a fracture between brother and sister because of disparity in inheritances.

DH and I had trusts and wills done last month, and it cost us $1500. I think I read in a previous post somewhere that you are in the Phoenix area, so your cost shouldn’t be much more than mine here in Tucson. An attorney could explain it all better (obviously) than I can, but I think it would totally be worth the money.