Do Yourself (and Your Family) a Favor: Read This, then Do Something About It

I've covered the reasons you need a will in prior posts, but it's a topic we all need to re-visit every now and then. A will is a vital part of any financial plan, but this piece from USA Today says that many people are woefully unprepared in this area:

Nearly 60% of Americans lack even a simple will, according to a 2004 survey by Lawyers.com.

The piece goes on to detail instances when it's especially important to have a will. Their list:

• You have minor children.
• You're part of a non-traditional couple.
• You have children from a previous marriage.

Finally, they list some ways to get a will done if you don't have one:

If you don't already have a family attorney, finding someone to prepare a will can be intimidating. Belcher suggests seeking referrals from relatives, friends or professionals, such as your accountant or financial planner. Costs vary depending on the complexity of your estate, but a straightforward will typically costs $500 to $1,000, Belcher says.

Another option is a do-it-yourself will. With most of these programs, you can prepare a basic will for less than $100. Quicken WillMaker Plus, a software program from Nolo Press, includes a long list of documents, from a basic will to a living trust. LegalZoom.com allows you to prepare a will online and will check your work for spelling, grammatical errors and consistency. But LegalZoom's review won't correct substantive legal errors, Liu says. The company doesn't give legal advice.

We currently have a will, but it needs to be updated. Hence, updating our will is one of my New Year's resolutions for 2006. I'm planning on using a lawyer (I have a couple referrals from friends) as I don't want to take any chances on a do-it-yourself mess up. A will is that important -- it's the security of our children -- so it's certainly worth the extra cost in my mind.

For those of you reading this who don't have a will, please, please, please get one. Even a simple do-it-yourself will is much better than none at all. Especially if you have kids, it's vitally important for you to get one. Don't put it off.

If one reason you're "waiting" to complete your will is that you don't know who to name as guardian of your kids, see my post titled How to Choose a Guardian for Your Children. It will help you select a guardian and keep your kids protected from a very bad situation caused by not having a will.

Comments

[J Martin]

Great advice. In addition to a will, it's so important to have a living revocable trust. If you only have a will, a court order is needed in order to carry your will out and divide your estate up between your beneficiaries. However, with a trust, no courts are needed. The trustee is legally allowed to divy up the estate to the beneficiaries. No probate court is involved.

[GHoosdum]

I'm married with no kids, and all of my accounts & life insurance policies are POD or TOD to my wife. At this point I'm not planning on distributing anything else to anyone else. Would you still recommend a will in my case? If so, do you think a software will would suffice, or would you recommend an attorney?

Thanks!

[FMF]

My philosophy is always "better safe than sorry" so personally, I'd get a will and have a lawyer do it. But a do-it-yourself version is better than nothing.