We Got Our Will Updated

Well, I've had this one on my to-do list for some time -- to get our will updated. And we finally did it. After a few months of meetings, emails, reviewing boring legal documents, and talking to people to make sure they were willing to care for our kids/manage our assets if we should both die, we have our wills completed. And it's not only our wills -- here's a complete list of what we had completed:

• Last Will and Testament -- One each for me and my wife

• Joint trust -- Helps avoid probate and costs associated with it

• Designation of Patient Advocate (PDF) -- Gives my wife decision-making authority for my healthcare should I be incapacitated and vice versa.

• Acceptance of Designation of Patient Advocate -- Simply says that we accept the responsibility that the other gave to us.

• Medical Records Release -- Allows records to flow freely from one health professional to another.

The whole thing cost us $700 which was worth it to me to have a professional we knew and trusted take care of it.

The most important thing to us was to update who would care for our kids if anything ever happened to us as well as to make sure that the kids would be fine financially if we were dead. That's one less thing we need to worry about now.

For more on wills and estate planning, see these links:

• Answers About Health Care Legal Documents

• The Biggest Mistake in Estate Planning

• What You Need to Know About Wills

• How to Decide Who Gets Your Kids When You Die

• Benefits of a Will

• You Still Need a Will

• What Happens When You Die Without a Will

Comments

[cytoman]

Wow, you got all that done for $700. It cost us $700 to complete just our will 6 years ago.

I used Nolo to form a Living Trust for my wife and I. I'd like to have both (our will and trust) reviewed by an attorney. Is that (doing it yourself) how you kept your costs down?

[FMF]

Cyto --

I used a trusted friend who just started his own firm (friend + no regular legal overhead = low fee.)

[Chief Family Officer]

It definitely helps to know someone to keep costs down. We went to my husband's former Wills & Trusts professor - he gives former students a 50% discount.

I agree with you, FMF - the most important thing about a will is making sure the kids are taken care of. I was pretty prompt about updating our wills after each birth just to make sure the kids would get the guardians we chose. As much as I care about our finances, I don't think I would have been as prompt about updating had it just been money at stake ...

[Ricardo Bueno]

In the end, was the experience as painful as you thought it might be?

Unfortunately, I've experienced witnessing too many instances where clients didn't have Wills or Living Trusts in place and chaos ensued over something that could've been taken care of rather painlessly (at least in my opinion) ahead of time.

[FMF]

Ricardo --

The only painful part was reading pages of legalese once he drafted our initial documents. ;-)

[Kevin@legalzoom]

You've really put effort into making your preparations. If more of us put that kind of care into making sure things would flow smoothly, things would be a lot easier on our families.

This way, you know that your kids will have the funds they need to continue their education and have their other needs met. Your family won't know what to do if one of you meets with serious illness or is involved in a sudden accident.

considering all that you did, you got a reasonable price from the professionals who helped with the work.