Question on Wills............

[Brat]

.... We sat down at Christmas one year about 10 years ago and Dad said "hey, we have this sheet of paper with all this info on it, it would be good if the whole family did that", and we did. 

Karen

Hug that Dad.. he led by example.

Those are dealing with parents who haven't taken care of these details could try that approach.

 

[Martha]

CT, I have been out for a couple of days and missed your post. In Minnesota I believe you have the option of filing your will with the county court administrator. If you do that, do not forget to file any updates you may do from time to time. Most people I know don't file their will.

I have no idea if the filed will is a public document. You might ask your lawyer.

 

[mathjak107]

here in new york,how the will is executed is a very imortant factor too...as an example there is a batch of questions that an attorney needs to ask you before you sign your will.questions like are you of sound mind and body...do you know what the will is? etc...
i was going to do our wills with willmaker at first and knew nothing of these little requirements.....a will can be declared invalid if anyone contests the wills and the witnesses are asked if these questions were asked..there many things the attorney did that had i done it on my own i would never have known.....

 

[OAG]

here in new york,how the will is executed is a very imortant factor too...as an example there is a batch of questions that an attorney needs to ask you before you sign your will.questions like are you of sound mind and body...do you know what the will is? etc...
  i was going to do our wills with willmaker at first and knew nothing of these little requirements.....a will can be declared invalid if anyone contests the wills and the witnesses are asked if these questions were asked..there many things the attorney did that had i done it on my own i would never have known.....

Questions they ask or are REQUIRED to ask or just ask to justify the money they charge? Just wondering?

 

[mathjak107]

lets say its proper protocol, as  when wills are challenged here in new york quite frequently the witnesses are questioned as to proper protocal by the party challenging the will'......every attorney asks the same questions to cover those areas .....its a favorite to claim the person wasnt aware what they were signing ,or they were on medication and not of sound mind......or..... the list goes on and on........not every family gets along and especially in 2nd marriages the kids may not be happy with the way things are split....   having just gone thru a 2 year battle over an inheireted business i got first hand experience as to what games are played once you get to court......thing s we dont even think are important such as the relationship of the witnesses to the person who's will it is are all suddnley big factors

 

[mathjak107]

the other thing i learned is that despite what the wills and trusts show as your intentions the judges usually won't fill in any missing blanks to correct the issues where there may be an issue.... you can clearly state in a trust you dont want so and so to get anything....but if any loop holes or poorly constructed wording is found the trust or will may not be able to be followed even though it clearly shows the intent....i dont want to ramble on about our case but man was it educational about how crucial perfection is in these documents and i can tell you as long as there is no problem the do it yourself kits are fine but when there are issues ooooh man is it a horror.......even though an attorney did my wifes fatherinlaws estates will and trust he must have been a general practioner and not an estate attorney as some crucial wording was omitted...that paragraph cost us 100,000 in legal fee's and 400,000 in buy out costs for some estranged step children who were specifically written out by the father inlaw

 

[kaudrey]

Brat said: Hug that Dad.. he led by example.

----

They always have. They worked hard, raised two kids on a middle-class income and a SAHM, never had debt, retired 12 years ago at 57 and have never looked back.

Now, here I am, their DD, working on retiring at age 52 in 15 years. (The competitive nature they also instilled in me requires that I "beat" them to retirement)!!!

Karen
(sorry for going off topic - I can't pass up a chance to show I am proud of my parents).