Doing a will

[mbcdefg]

My mom mentioned that she wants to get a will drawn up for herself. She’s 65, retired, and widowed. Her house is paid off. She doesn’t have much money and no valuables like jewelry/art/cars/etc - she said her main concern is if she dies while still living in the house. She may downgrade someday to a condo or something eventually but she has no plans at the moment. She has three adult children.

She mentioned doing the will herself online - I’m assuming she means through LegalZoom or something along those lines. I don’t think she’s really looked into it yet. I think she got a lawyer quote for just under $1k and she’s reluctant to spend that much since, in her mind, she won’t be leaving much behind. Is LegalZoom/etc a decent option for people looking for something very basic? Are we heirs going to be left paying a lot of money or jumping through legal hoops if she goes this route?

Are there any resources she can look to such as AARP to help her find someone affordable? She’s retired, so no EAP, and I doubt her previous employer even offered a EAP. We’re in Jersey.

Thanks for any input.

[wanderingback]

Here’s a somewhat recent thread asking similar questions:
pandce.proboards.com/thread/619758/living-trust-setup-lawyer

I would also have her fill out advance directive forms as well. You can usually google advance directive state name to get the documents for your state.

[pierogigirl]

Aug 12, 2020 7:19:50 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

Check with Legal Aid in your state. Some have elder law clinics and will do wills free of charge for people over a certain age. They'll also do health care and financial powers of attorney.

I've seen online wills go fine, I've seen them cost well over a thousand to fix what was caused by the online will.

My father did an online will and his desire to keep the courts and lawyers out of it, ending up making it so my brother and I spend a lot of time in court and a lot of money on a lawyer.  I would not recommend it.

So many problems could have been avoided with some professional advice.  He left his retirement account to the estate instead of us (even though we were the beneficiaries in the will).  We have still not resolved this, although we are getting closer, over a year after his death.

[imojoebunny]

It is worth a lawyer to save time and stress in a time when you don't want time and stress. Would you and your siblings be financially able to give her a lawyer will as a gift? The attorney we used, and I am sure others, would be able to give you a pretty good estimate, and you could pre-pay. In the end, you and your siblings are the ones who benefit, and it would be well worth the $350 each, to save a lot of hassle.

[pierogigirl]

Aug 12, 2020 12:50:10 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

I'm sorry that happened to you pierogigirl and I wish it were less common than it is.

I guess one positive out of all this is that DH and I, and my brother are motivated to see an estate attorney and set it up so our kids don't have as many headaches.  DH's parents are in poor health and right after my father died, they updated their wills and set up power of attorney. 

Thankfully, my brother and I love each other, are on good terms, and are reasonable people.  The only way to split the retirement account without liquidating and taking a huge tax hit, is for one of us to roll it into an inherited account and then split it and roll it again to the other person (as I understand it).  If we didn't get along, this would be a huge problem.

[mbcdefg]

Aug 12, 2020 13:01:10 GMT -5 pierogigirl said:

Aug 12, 2020 12:50:10 GMT -5 Catlawdy said:

I'm sorry that happened to you pierogigirl and I wish it were less common than it is.

I guess one positive out of all this is that DH and I, and my brother are motivated to see an estate attorney and set it up so our kids don't have as many headaches.  DH's parents are in poor health and right after my father died, they updated their wills and set up power of attorney. 

Thankfully, my brother and I love each other, are on good terms, and are reasonable people.  The only way to split the retirement account without liquidating and taking a huge tax hit, is for one of us to roll it into an inherited account and then split it and roll it again to the other person (as I understand it).  If we didn't get along, this would be a huge problem.

Sorry you’ve had to deal with this.

When my mom casually mentioned the will recently I suggested she look to a professional, in part because one of my siblings likely won’t cooperate or be helpful with this matter. I don’t know if they’ll cause a stink when inheritance time comes (not too likely only because, again, there’s really not much to inherit), but the absolute last thing I want to deal with when my mom dies is a fight over settling her final affairs.

I had the idea to cover the lawyer costs for Mom as a gift. I may speak to my cooperative sibling to help cover the costs too.