Wills, trusts, and all of that legal fun

virginiagirl11 · December 2010

So, being your typical young couple going through their twenties without a whole lot to leave behind in the event of their deaths, we have not implemented a will or trust up to this point. However, over the last few years we have purchased a house, gotten a nicer car, set up a 401k, and are now expecting our first child and wish to be responsible parents. As such, one of the items on my baby-prep checklist is to get a will and/or a trust set up before LO gets here.

Because we don't have an extremely complicated financial situation, it is my understanding that we can draw up our own documents using inexpensive, reputable tools online.

1. Has anyone done this? If so, what diy tool did you use?

2. Regardless of whether you used a lawyer or did it yourself, how much did it cost?

3. What exactly do you have (will, trust, other legal docs, etc.) and why?

KandM05 · December 2010

This is on our To Do list as well. We dont have much assets, but we want it in place should both myself and my husband pass away, we want in writing who we want to raise our kids. As the years go on, and we aquire assets, we will update.

We plan to use LegalZoom.com. Its quick and easy and cheap. I've heard great things about it. It costs between $65-75 to us Legal Zoom.

We will be doing the Last Will and Testament, as this is the one which includes who will take care of your kids.

rowanthefrog · December 2010

We actually *just* updated our Will a few days ago. We already had a living will, power of attorney, etc in place so we left those alone.

We used www.legacywriter.com to do our Will. It was actually really easy and took about 15 minutes. It cost $19.95 for one of us and $14.95 for the other.

The only thing is you have to decide who will be the executor of your will and guardians of your child(ren) if something should happen to both of you. Not fun stuff, but important.

We now have: Will, Living Will, Power of Attorney, Trusts set up for the kids, life insurance policies on both of us, college 529 plan for my son and we are establishing another for the new baby.

A

croberts22 · December 2010

We have wills for both of us, plus I have a POA and DH has a living will (because he is military). I think we paid a little over $100 for the wills and POA (living will was done through the military and free). We will be updating everything with the baby on the way. We don't have much but some possessions that we had willed to others before will probably go to the baby and we will need to add in what we expect to happen with the child should we both die at the same time. (We actually had an argument about this last week so there is a lot to talk about when it comes to what will happen to LO should something major happen). I expect the updates to cost another $100 or so. I personally am glad we used a lawyer so I know for sure everything is done right. He also was able to recommend something that we didn't think about.

Xles10 · December 2010

I think you could probably find an attorney to handle all of this for $400-$600. I'm a practicing lawyer and I won't be doing any of this stuff on my own. It's too easy to make a mistake and have everything be invalid.

Also, if you've financed your house and car they aren't exactly assets that you'll be passing a long. I think the most important thing is to make sure you have enough life insurance and to figure out who would take care of your child if something happened to both of you. Right now, if you died without a will everything is going to go to your spouse. If both of you die everything will go to the kid. The only problem is that it would be caught up in the courts a bit longer.

theblissfullyblessedwife · December 2010

We don't have much in the terms of assets right now. I asked my parents about wills for our child so we could designate who he will go to. My parents said that if you have a signed piece of paper in a safe that says who you want him to go to, that is enough according to their lawyer. So....I am not sure. Until, we own a house and have something else to use a will for, we will just do that.

6fsn · December 2010

We went to a local lawyer, the know the state and local laws the best. Plus they have copies of everything on file should it need to be used. For $200 Dh and I each got a will, power of attorney, living will, and another medical thing.

The consultation with the lawyer was free. We might have saved a couple of bucks with legalzoom, but I feel much better with the local guy.

ruthiewith · December 2010

I'd have to agree with some PPs - I'd go to a local lawyer to make sure it's done right. I'm a practicing attorney too and, depending on your location, you can probably get everything done for between $200-$400. :-)

mesr · December 2010

you ladies are way more organized than i am! i bought my lawyer friend a case of beer and dinner about a year ago in exchange for doing our wills. he still hasn't finished it. i suppose that's what happens when you go to your friends for these sorts of things.

Betts12 · December 2010

I am an attorney and focus on estate planning. The real benefit of wills even if you don't have a whole lot in terms of assets is the ability to name a guardian for your child in case something happens to both you and your husband. Consulting an attorney can ensure that your documents conform to state law. That said, I've heard that Quicken Wills can do a good job if you're looking for just a quick and easy method.

Don't forget lifetime planning. That is, powers of attorney and making sure your beneficiary designations for retirement and insurance are coordinated with your overall plan.

The need for trusts is often very case specific. These can be used primarily in two circumstances: where a state's probate would be so onerous that you would like to avoid it via a lifetime trust or if you have enough assets that you would like to ensure a certain level of management for your child until a certain age.

Sorry for the lengthy reply but hope this helps.

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