You Still Need a Will

Hi. It's me again. And, yes, I'm talking about wills again. After writing about giving up smoking, this is my favorite "public service" topic.

I was reminder to post about it by this piece on MSNBC which said most people who need a will don't have one. The details:

“Everyone needs some kind of plan,” says Laurie Siebert, CPA and a certified financial planner with Valley National Advisers, Inc. in Bethlehem, Pa. “Yet, estate planning tends to be the elephant sitting in the room that many people seem determined to ignore,” she adds.

According to a recent survey conducted by the online legal document service provider LegalZoom.com, 70.2 percent of Americans lack a last will and testament. Even worse, survey respondents who were parents with minor children were the least likely to have prepared a will. The most commonly cited reasons: Disagreement or indecision over naming the children’s legal guardians.

Yikes! 70% don't have a will -- and parents with young kids are the worst of the lot?! Double yikes! (Which reminds me -- I still need to update our will.) For those with kids and no will, you're playing with fire:

Unfortunately, not making such decisions still has consequences. “If you don’t decide, the state will. However, the results will likely be undesirable for everyone,” says Siebert.

And even young people -- some who think they probably don't need a will -- do need one:

“As soon as you start a career, you are likely to have assets such as a 401(k), IRA, or even an employer-paid insurance policy,” observes Joseph Corriero, a director in online marketing for Merrill Lynch in Hopewell, N.J.  All require thought and decisions regarding beneficiary designations. They also require periodic review to ensure the listed beneficiaries are still those who should be named and their contact information is current.

And finally, here's a great way to talk to your parents about the fact that they need a will:

Siebert suggests one way adult children can have this conversation with their parents is to begin by asking advice: "Now that I’m working and have a 401(k) and have a baby on the way — how did you and Dad decide who your guardians and beneficiaries would be when you were my age?"  Or they could ask: "If something were to happen to you Dad, how would Mom be taken care of?"

Nice. ;-)

So, what are you waiting for -- go out and get a will!!

In addition, I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts. Do you have a will? Why or why not? If you have one, is it current?

Comments

[plonkee]

I don't have a will.

I know that I should have one and I'll probably write one once I have bought my house.

The main reason that I don't have a will is that I'm single with no dependents. If I die intestate, it'll all go to my parents and I can live with that, even though its not my preferred choice. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they thought that I would leave them the majority of the money even if I had a will. Perhaps I should acquaint them with the contents of the will, if/when I get it written.

[Jo (Single Female in Search of a New Job)]

I don't have a will. But I think about it. My excuse is always that I need to get my finance papers in order so I know what exactly to put down and be able to write a Will quicker when I have all the numbers in front of me. Also, I need time to do it atleast semi-right, and right now time is the only thing I dont' have. Additionally, I'm single so there isn't much to write anyway. Plus I'm looking for a new job, so well, I would have to change things anyway.

I realize those are all very lame excuses, but that's the reason behind it.

Question: Does one need to meet with a lawyer for a will to be valid? Because I don't have much for assets so I really don't have much for my family to "fight" over, it's really mostly debt. But I do know it's a good idea to name power of attorney when it comes to making financial and medical decisions if you are incapacitated. That leads me to think it's good for it to be legally drafted, so if there is a dispute then the people named have backing from a legal document rather than just a Word document with my signature.

[plonkee]

I believe that as with most legal things you don't actually need a lawyer, but you probably want one to make sure that its done correctly. Thats certainly the position in the UK anyway.

[Lord]

I have drafted these, but have yet to finalize them, but I do have a simple handwritten one to fall back on. Half of all wills in California are handwritten on the deathbed which is why handwritten ones are accepted here in the first place. Decisions can be difficult and dysfunctional families don't make it any easier.

[karla (threadbndr)]

I do have a will. I have had one since I was 18. Updated when I got married, updated again when we had a child. Updated again when I was widowed.

Also a Power of Attorney for Health Care and a Health Care directive (living will).

I also made my son take care of this when he was home on leave after boot camp. The Marines use a rather generic will drafted by the Naval JAG office and since JC has a trust fund, he needed a more specific will. He had to take a copy back with him to file so that the 'short form' from boot camp was superseeded.

I think that getting these legal documents in place should be part of 'becoming an adult' along with registering for Selective Service and voter registration. I basically did just what my dad did for me and my sister - made a list, helped my son get his paperwork together and nagged him till it was done LOL.