For the love of god, get a will!!

[CoolRich59]

I'm a lawyer who previously did my own will but decided last year it was time to use an expert. I saw a lawyer who specializes in trusts & estates, met with her twice and now have a new will. I thought I knew a lot about the subject, but she knows more about "minor" issues that can lead to problems. Small "tweaks" can be significant. It cost me $2000 but I think it's money well spent, even if only for my peace of mind.

One-size-fits-all wills that you find on the internet aren't for everyone.

Very interesting as my situation is similar. I practiced in another area, but thought that I would educate myself on trusts and estates and do my own.

I've found a lot of trust and estates CLEs online, but so far the ones I've sat through have been mostly "war stories" and not much practice skill. (One of the programs spent time on the Prince debacle. What a mess!!)

I have some definite ideas on how I want my estate structured so it's probably a good idea to have an expert set it up rather than try to do it myself. (Besides, I'm retired and sitting through CLEs seems too much like w*rk!! )

 

[lucky penny]

Very interesting as my situation is similar. I practiced in another area, but thought that I would educate myself on trusts and estates and do my own.

I've found a lot of trust and estates CLEs online, but so far the ones I've sat through have been mostly "war stories" and not much practice skill. (One of the programs spent time on the Prince debacle. What a mess!!)

I have some definite ideas on how I want my estate structured so it's probably a good idea to have an expert set it up rather than try to do it myself. (Besides, I'm retired and sitting through CLEs seems too much like w*rk!! )

Same here! I sat through a 4-hour CLE session on trusts & estates last year and it was pretty useless.

But at this point I plan to continue going to CLEs when I'm retired, even though I don't intend to practice. I'm really proud of becoming a lawyer after going to law school at night - it wasn't easy for me - and it's a part of my identity I don't want to give up, at least not quite yet. Just need to find some better classes.

 

[CoolRich59]

I'm really proud of becoming a lawyer after going to law school at night - it wasn't easy for me - and it's a part of my identity I don't want to give up, at least not quite yet.

You should be proud. I presume you had a day j@b if you went to law school at night. That is quite an accomplishment.

 

[lucky penny]

You should be proud. I presume you had a day j@b if you went to law school at night. That is quite an accomplishment.

I had a glamorous-sounding job at a fashion magazine when I went to law school at night. My law school classmates couldn't understand why I wanted to be a lawyer; my co-workers thought going to law school sounded very cool. Let's just say I needed a change & was starved for intellectual stimulation. Getting myself there was hard, but I immediately knew I was in the right place. Very lucky that I later found a niche that was perfect for me in a career I loved.

 

[rodi]

We just finished up our trust 'restatement'. It had been 11 years but several of the small bequests/beneficiaries have changed. We'll probably update it again in about 15 years - when both of our sons are over 30... although the new trust addresses them coming of maturity (not just legal age) better than the old trust... so we may just let it ride.

 

[always_learning]

We have wills that are probably 20 years old. They spelled out "what ifs" for the kids as minors (i.e. guardianship), then says if they are of age if we both pass at the same time, they get 50/50. Our medical directives are also in place with no changes on our thoughts regarding that. Our wishes for our assets are still the same now that the kids are adults.

We are planning on moving out of state in a few years and will have new documents drawn up for our new state as well as to 'clean it up' since the kids are adults. Division of assets will remain the same. Is there any reason to draw up new wills now?