Has anyone used an online site to create a will.

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My wife and I are in our mid 60's. Our current wills are 39 years old. Some things have changed since then. Kids are grown with families of their own. No need for guardianship issues. Our desires and needs are much simpler now. We know how we want our estate to be distributed. Has anyone used something like, say Legal Zoom, or any other legal document creating program to create a will? In our small town they want $250 - $300 to create a simple will. Since both my wife and I would like one, $500 - $600 is getting a little pricey. The legal Zoom website advertises a simple will for $69. Our neighbor said to just write our wishes out on a word processor, print it out, get it notorized, and that would be legallly binding. Not sure it matters but our existing wills were created in Florida and we now live in Georgia. Any thoughts, or first hand experience in a similar situation.
 
I used LawDepot.com for free. They say it’s $10 a month or so, but there’s a 2 week free trial. Put in your card, create your will, then click Account and cancel membership. Simple and easy and you won’t get charged at all.

As long as your wishes are spelled out and you get it notarized, spending big bucks isn’t going to help you.
 
Judgement call based on what your assets are and the chances that the distributions will be contested.
 
No, as my dad is an attorney. Retired though. Fact: If you make your own will, sign and date it. Such will's have held up in probate court. Even ones not notorized.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Judgement call based on what your assets are and the chances that the distributions will be contested.



Yep
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
No, as my dad is an attorney. Retired though. Fact: If you make your own will, sign and date it. Such will's have held up in probate court. Even ones not notorized.


For the amount of personal assets (cash, vehicles, retirement, etc...) the cost of a lawyer it’s s definitely worth it to visit a lawyer.

Probate can get very messy. In some states probate is necessary, here in Florida it’s not a state requirement when a person dies. Some families will fight tooth and nail over certain belongings of elderly parents.

A will might say “Bank account, Savings account and IRA for my daughter “..... but all 3 still have the ex wife as beneficiary, POD (payable on death) , TOD (transfer on death), etc...

Sure, a will is good.... some go further and a have a trust to divide up assets.
 
I was only speaking of someone who has little and is single. Like a 21 year old that can't afford an attorney, has little to no money and might wanna leave his favorite comic book to someone.
 
I've been widowed twice and never probated a will. Everything was POD/TOD. Currently I have three real properties in a trust (wish I hadn't paid for one now) and a simple pour over will but everything else is still listed as pod/tod. Hopefully I'll get my kids to sign on some kind of agreement that lets them agree to split the real properties dollar for dollar based on county assessor's data (we have one of the best in the country). He gets the dollar amount a bit low to keep appeals down, but everything is proportioned properly-- this will keep them from going into court with dueling appraisals. Some of the biggest battles of my youthful memory were fights over stuff after the grandparents died (I bought Mom that figurine), but for the life of me I can't think of any personal property left with any sentimental value. Hopefully they won't get too violent over who gets the eight year old lcd TV. Maybe I'll include a little "flip a coin and take turns picking" clause.
 
I used a Nolo Press will product that's updated every year which I believe you can buy in media form or create online...I did the former.

Personally, I would have no issues going DIY through a good online or store-bought will creation product but it can depend on how complicated your estate is and if things will change or how in the future. I did it DIY and had an estate attorney review it before mom died. It was so simple he did it pro bono in about 15 minutes and we were good to go.
 
Thanks everyone.

We have two sons. We've made it clear to both that when we are both gone our estate will be liquidated with the proceeds divided equally between the two. They are already co-beneficiaries on all of financial accounts. The main issue will be liquidating our real property. So, no trusts, or special distributions to anyone else unless they both pre-decease us. Not looking to make this overly complicated.
 
I am aware of one case where a will had been done with a personal lawyer then later on redone online. The result was a contested will and family going through some rifts.

Unless the will is very simple I would have a attorney do it. The extra amount spent now can save a lot of $$ and heartache later.
 
I guess that depends on the value of your assets. If total value is low, than a do-it-yourself might be fine.
I got a fairly good deal because my company offers lawyer assistance for some things as a benefit.
For my case, the cost would have been $3,500 to maybe over $5,000.
A trust, will and DNR form, as I recall.
I got it done for less than $100.
I say, go for the peace of mind.
 
Go for it. I did. If your will is simple and you know there will be no fighting over it, why not. Also in some states you can make corrections by changing directly and initial and dating it.

The people that wrote these things are probably smarter than your lawyer. Its legally notarized and witnessed. Whats to challenge???

As a matter of fact my MIL died without a will and had a piece of paper unsigned and it sufficient when the 3 children verified it was her writing.

The probate process is smooth as silk unless anyone challenges it. If there is no possibility of that it will be fine...IMHO
 
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Originally Posted By: Al
Go for it. I did. If your will is simple and you know there will be no fighting over it, why not. Also in some states you can make corrections by changing directly and initial and dating it.

The people that wrote these things are probably smarter than your lawyer. Its legally notarized and witnessed. Whats to challenge???

As a matter of fact my MIL died without a will and had a piece of paper unsigned and it sufficient when the 3 children verified it was her writing.

The probate process is smooth as silk unless anyone challenges it. If there is no possibility of that it will be fine...IMHO


Well, that's just it. If there are no disagreements, a simple will will work fine. If people want to disagree, the most precise will in the world won't stop it.

More important than the will is to make arrangements so that in the case of nursing home care, all your money doesn't go down the drain.
 
I have used Rocket Lawyer. I found it very acceptable. Don't forget, for any investments, you can set those accounts up as "per stirpes".....which then bypass your will. In my case, I only have my home and a couple of cars that are covered by a will. The rest is spelled out in my investment accounts (you just list the names, ssn and %).
 
Theres a lawyer on Youtube called 'LawTube' and has call in show where people ask him questions. He has a section dedicated just for wills, probate and trusts.
 
We got a "special" through my employer and a local Elder Law att'y for our wills and had her put them together. The resulting 2 inch ring binder is pretty impressive/daunting but I have adult kids, and my wife has adult kids and we needed to make sure we got it right. Still talking about a trust of some sort, especially as our assets and retirement accounts have grown so much the last couple of years. Not rich, never going to be, but not living hand-to-mouth either.

Honestly, it was simpler being young, dumb & broke.
 
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