Writing a will
- Thread starter opus
- Start date
You should thank god you dont have to deal with one..they suck..did that for 16 yrs..even our dog knew when it was that time..he would just hide out for a week until it was over..I wasnt that lucky...now some other idiot gets to put up with...
..thank god it aint me...
Opus,
A legal handwritten "will" is called a "holographic will". In your own handwriting write down what you want to happen if you die. Then sign it in front of a notary and have it notorized. Also have a witness sign the will in front of the notary. Do not type it, it must be in your own handwriting. That is very legal.
If you want anything more than that in the future I would recommend having a "trust attorney" handle it for you. It is well worth knowing it is all legal.
Personally I have what is called a "pourover will". My Will gives my assets to a "trust" and then I name the "trustee" of my trust. In my case the wife would be the trustee. We have three daughters and if we both die the assets go into three separate trusts. Then I have trustees named for those trusts. My daughters are all grown but two of them are brain dead when it comes to money so I won't allow them to be their own trustee. Oh hell, this gets to complicated. You wanted a simple answer so stick with the first paragraph.
A legal handwritten "will" is called a "holographic will". In your own handwriting write down what you want to happen if you die. Then sign it in front of a notary and have it notorized. Also have a witness sign the will in front of the notary. Do not type it, it must be in your own handwriting. That is very legal.
If you want anything more than that in the future I would recommend having a "trust attorney" handle it for you. It is well worth knowing it is all legal.
Personally I have what is called a "pourover will". My Will gives my assets to a "trust" and then I name the "trustee" of my trust. In my case the wife would be the trustee. We have three daughters and if we both die the assets go into three separate trusts. Then I have trustees named for those trusts. My daughters are all grown but two of them are brain dead when it comes to money so I won't allow them to be their own trustee. Oh hell, this gets to complicated. You wanted a simple answer so stick with the first paragraph.
O
opus
Banned
Opus,
A legal handwritten "will" is called a "holographic will". In your own handwriting write down what you want to happen if you die. Then sign it in front of a notary and have it notorized. Also have a witness sign the will in front of the notary. Do not type it, it must be in your own handwriting. That is very legal.
If you want anything more than that in the future I would recommend having a "trust attorney" handle it for you. It is well worth knowing it is all legal.
Personally I have what is called a "pourover will". My Will gives my assets to a "trust" and then I name the "trustee" of my trust. In my case the wife would be the trustee. We have three daughters and if we both die the assets go into three separate trusts. Then I have trustees named for those trusts. My daughters are all grown but two of them are brain dead when it comes to money so I won't allow them to be their own trustee. Oh hell, this gets to complicated. You wanted a simple answer so stick with the first paragraph.
Now thats something I can use. I want to write down my desires, without all the legal jargon. I want it to NEVER be contested, and I will state this. Not that it would be, but just the same. I dont want the court or state to have ANY say in what my wishes are. They are my wishes and I am not inviting the govt to be part of it. Its my stuff, it goes where I want it and where I say, not what they think...final!
Get what I mean? Sounds pretty simple I guess.
Ahhh..that explains the will....lmao....I need to do the same thing..my kids are mid teens and right now they would get everything if I kick the bucket..but that means their mom would get it since she would be only surviving parent.....
If you are divorced and do not want your kids mother to have any control over what you leave your kids you definitely need to get a trust set up for them. You would create a "pourover will". The will would give your assets to a "trust" and you would name a trustee and successor trustees in case your trustee died or became unable for whatever reason. If you don't do this it is very possible your kids would never see a penny of what you left them. Get an attorney on this one. It is well worth it. Get a good "trust attorney". The main purpose of having a "living trust", I am not talking about a "living will", is to secure what you want to leave and to also avoid probate so the courts will not have to get involved in settling your estate................
S
Superjag
Well-known member
Sorry to get in on this thread late, (I was out of town) but I'm a lawyer, and I draft wills.
You can "make it simple" and you can "write it yourself" and you can skip all the "legal jargon", OR you can have a will that will actually have some chance of distributing your possessions in accordance with your wishes. You pick.
Not trying to be (entirely) a smart-a$$, but here's the deal. Each state has it's own very specific requirements regarding the drafting and signing of a will, so unless you comply with them, you may as well write your will on toilet paper, as the Court will not accept the will as valid. Also, I would bet you that there are a number of questions which you will need to answer (but have not yet thought about) that will need to be answered in your will. For example: Who will handle the probating/distribution of your estate? What happens if you and your wife die and your kid(s) are not old enough yet to take their share of your stuff? Who will manage it in trust for them? What if one of your kids has kids of their own and dies before you? Does the dead kid's kids (your grandkids) now get the dead kids stuff? How old will your kids need to be before they get the stuff from your will? What if they want to use some of the money for college? And so on...
None of this means that you need to spend a bunch of money on a lawyer to have a will done right. Like anything else, you can certainly learn how to do it properly. Personally, I think it's worth paying a couple hundred bucks to know that I'm not causing a huge f-ing headache for my spouse and kids after I die, just like I think it's worth paying a few bucks to have someone who knows what they are doing pull my teeth for me, but that's just me.
However, if you are insistent on doing it yourself, PM me, and I'll try and steer you in the right direction.
You can "make it simple" and you can "write it yourself" and you can skip all the "legal jargon", OR you can have a will that will actually have some chance of distributing your possessions in accordance with your wishes. You pick.
Not trying to be (entirely) a smart-a$$, but here's the deal. Each state has it's own very specific requirements regarding the drafting and signing of a will, so unless you comply with them, you may as well write your will on toilet paper, as the Court will not accept the will as valid. Also, I would bet you that there are a number of questions which you will need to answer (but have not yet thought about) that will need to be answered in your will. For example: Who will handle the probating/distribution of your estate? What happens if you and your wife die and your kid(s) are not old enough yet to take their share of your stuff? Who will manage it in trust for them? What if one of your kids has kids of their own and dies before you? Does the dead kid's kids (your grandkids) now get the dead kids stuff? How old will your kids need to be before they get the stuff from your will? What if they want to use some of the money for college? And so on...
None of this means that you need to spend a bunch of money on a lawyer to have a will done right. Like anything else, you can certainly learn how to do it properly. Personally, I think it's worth paying a couple hundred bucks to know that I'm not causing a huge f-ing headache for my spouse and kids after I die, just like I think it's worth paying a few bucks to have someone who knows what they are doing pull my teeth for me, but that's just me.
However, if you are insistent on doing it yourself, PM me, and I'll try and steer you in the right direction.
