Have you made your will?

[raccoon]

A few years ago my sister nagged me until I got the wheel and set up a POA and a medical POA and all that.

just in case, you want to see that your assets go to whoever you want to have them. Sometimes states have some weird laws. For instance some years ago my supervisor told me that if a woman’s husband died and he didn’t have a will, and they didn’t have any children, his brothers and sisters could get some of his assets.

Now that was back in the 70s I heard that, and I don’t know if it’s still true.

[safeinOhio]

1. We have lawyers for a good reason.

I suggest you hire the best you can afford.

[LiberalArkie]

2. Nah, My cat and dog will just have to fight over the meat left on my bones

[Alliepoo]

3. Yep! We updated our will about a year ago!

[Siwsan]

4. I have a medical directive and a POA.

I don't have an actual will. My investments are already designated to be divided equally among my surviving family members, which is just my brother, niece and 2 nephews. As for possessions, my niece gets my jewelry and the house goes to my brother. He is also the beneficiary on my bank accounts and I have no worry about him dividing any money I leave behind. We've had to settle 3 estates in the last 5 years, there was never a moment of tension or greed, and he is one of the most honorable humans on the planet.

[MLAA]

5. Yep, did it 10 or 12 years ago.

All set up by percentages ...x% to charity and x% to a few nieces and nephews.

[leftieNanner]

6. We have wills and POAs

Also very importantly, we set up a Trust. It eliminates the need to go through probate and saves time and money for that. It takes a few extra dollars to work with an attorney to set it up and it takes a little bit of effort to put all of your assets into the trust (change the title of your house, your bank accounts). My parents had a trust and it was super easy when they passed away. I had been made a signator on their checking account when my Dad got to the point where he couldn't manage their finances any more. But with the trust, my sister and I just divided up their assets and then it was done.

[hunter]

7. I don't want to burden my children with any of my crap.

My parents were rather pissed off that their parents hadn't truly enjoyed the wealth they'd accumulated.

The estates they left were a frightful mess.

When my crazy grandma died my sister lived in her house for a time, but my sister earned it for digging through so much of my grandma's crap.

My grandma was a hoarder. One of the things she collected was Styrofoam Big Mac boxes. Most of the boxes contained partially eaten mummified Big Macs, but some held rolls of cash and other treasures. Every box had to be opened... My grandma had also let her cat use the entire back room as a litter box which was never cleaned.

It was horrible.

My own crap isn't anything like that, but I hope to get rid of it all before I die and it becomes some kind of horrible burden for my wife and children.

If I give it all away, or my wife sets fire to it all in the backyard, my children will understand.

[former9thward]

8. In the specific case you mention

the siblings could get any assets owned solely by the husband. They could not get any marital assets owned by both the husband and wife --- which in most cases is almost all assets. A jointly held home would go directly to the wife, will or no will.

[pnwmom]

9. Each state has its own rules about where your assets go if you die without a will.

It's called the "law of intestate." So if you want to know how your assets would be divided up without a will, just google your state and the law of intestate.

Better though, would be to do a will.

One of my relative's estates went to his second wife, but she died without a will, and no other heirs. Long story short, his estate ended up going to the state, instead of to his own grandchildren.

[USALiberal]

10. Transfer on death is good too.

[dameatball]

11. Yes and I left everything to you. You're welcome. He's a nice kittycat.

[csziggy]

12. Yes, I have a will

My first was made not long after my oldest sister died back in 1993. I had my first serious surgery (rebuilding a shoulder) not quite a year later and decided to follow my sister's lead and put together all the needed documents.

I re-wrote my will a couple of times using Quicken Will Maker and found it useful for leading me by the hand with their steps and explanations of the details. The last time I used Will Maker was just before my heart surgery - there was a 10% chance of me dying from that and a month later they took out a cancerous kidney.

Then after mother in law and my parents' deaths and a very large change in my circumstances I went to an estate attorney who helped me make choices to update everything, including creating a trust.

It is a very good idea to have a will, and living trust (to indicate your desires if you become incompetent to state them), name a healthcare surrogate (to handle things if you are incompetent), and a Power of Attorney so your surrogate can have a legal right to handle everything.

[panader0]

13. I started out with nothing and I still have most of it left.

I'm pretty sure my kids don't want my treasures.

[alwaysinasnit]

14. I'm in California (community property state). Having had the experience of probating my mother's

estate (basically just her house), the costs were astronomical (approx. $150,000 total). I have a living will now which cost me $4,000 and it covers POA issues, Advanced Medical Health Directives, and a pour-over will clause which will catch any accidentally forgotten assets. I highly recommend a living trust for anyone with minor children, blended families and/or real estate.

[SWBTATTReg]

15. Just a question...living will cost of $4K seems very reasonable, but was wondering about the $150K

cost of probating your Mom's house (I am so sorry of course to hear this), I know that we (my sister and I) are probating my Mom's estate but we incurred nothing like the $150 K probate costs (instead perhaps about $9K thus far). Perhaps maybe we overlooked something (my sister and I), I was thinking, OMG, what did we overlook, etc.?

I am imagining that we've haven't overlooked something (being about ready to come out of probate), but I thought I'd follow up w/ you.

And the Advanced Med. Heath Directive is a good idea and the pour-over clause?, not sure what this is, is this a clause in the will that if said asset is not referred to in the will, then said asset would belong to xyz, or some other kind of 'catch all' type statement?

Thank you so much for providing some really helpful and thoughtful information. Smart and I'm definitely going to look into your suggestions, I do need to update my will and stuff. Take care and be safe!!

[alwaysinasnit]

16. Happy to help. The costs included escrow/closing costs related to sale of the property,

administrator's fees, attorney's fees, court costs (these were the major fees). Given that California property is expensive, the commission fees to the broker (at 5%) for the sale of the property was nearly half the total fees. Pour-over clauses in the living trust allow for a mini-probate process to bring into the trust (almost) any asset that was not included originally. This could be assets that were accidentally forgotten, or assets acquired subsequently (not real estate though). One of the major benefits of a living trust is that the transfer of assets is automatic (your beneficiaries need only notify the appropriate institutions with a death certificate). However, things like bank accounts need to be transferred into the trust by the account holder. This just means that you go to your bank or investment broker and show them the trust certification document (included in the trust package). This way, access to funds for the beneficiary to pay mortgage and maintenance fees can be available quickly.

I hope this helps and if you have any further questions, I will be happy to help. Take care of yourself!

[SWBTATTReg]

17. Thank you so much! This does help immensely. The 5% fee you have is low, thank god. I've ...

seen up to 8% on this as a fee, perhaps in CA the fee is restricted and can't go any higher.

Where we're at, we've been quoted anywhere from 6%-8%, which I guess out there (in rural MO), this is probably a fair amount, fewer possible clients and thus, a little more incentive for agents to work w/ the estate. Hopefully, the sales process involving my Mom's house/land will go smoothly,being that her two sons want to buy the property (and they are good kids too, I don't mind).

You too, take care and be safe. Maybe one day, this will all wash over finally and we can all breath easier.

[alwaysinasnit]

18. You're welcome. As for the 5% commission, my mother's property is in San Francisco, which just

means that any little shack is selling for over a million dollars (I will let you do the math). And, get this, the sale took place 5 years ago and real estate prices have continued to rise since then, although they are starting to decline in this current market. I can only hope that real estate in rural MO is much more reasonably priced. I second your wish that someday, hopefully soon, we can all breath easier. I wish you and all your loved ones well and that you all stay safe.