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I was wondering how much to plan to spend to get a will done. I do not need a trust. Or should I just do it myself using the online services? It seems like attorneys never want to give you a price until you've done a "consultation" and they've pitched all other the other things you can get.
We paid $1,200 for two wills, regular POAs, health care POAs and medical directives. Do you really want to trust that an internet document will do what you want?
Do you really want to trust that an internet document will do what you want?
It might for someone who doesn't have a lot of complicating factors (partnerships, business interests, extended family, exs, etc). Best to at least check for requirements their state of residence might impose on wills; specific boilerplate, notarized, witnessed, not recognizing a holographic...
I was wondering how much to plan to spend to get a will done. I do not need a trust. Or should I just do it myself using the online services?
I think it is worth it to buy a copy of WillMaker (or similar), and go through it, answering all of the questions. Worst case, you decide you do need a lawyer, but at least you will know what questions need to be answered, special circumstances to consider, etc. In the long run, the $70 or so you spend on the software will be a small price to pay.
I was wondering how much to plan to spend to get a will done. I do not need a trust. Or should I just do it myself using the online services? It seems like attorneys never want to give you a price until you've done a "consultation" and they've pitched all other the other things you can get.
We used an online will maker (sorry, I can't remember which one, or if it was free) just to get everything organized. We printed our wills out (one for each of us) and met with an attorney go over them. She advised us on some things we hadn't thought about, such as making the wills self-proving (I think that was the term), added a couple of details, then she rewrote them using her software. We met with her again to get the "new and improved" wills signed and notarized. Amazingly, she did all that for $150. I would have expected to pay at least $1000 for that.
I definitely recommend having an attorney at least go over your will if you do it yourself. It's the only way to know if you've done something wrong that could cost your heirs a lot of money, time, and/or heartache down the road.
I think it is worth it to buy a copy of WillMaker (or similar), and go through it, answering all of the questions. Worst case, you decide you do need a lawyer, but at least you will know what questions need to be answered, special circumstances to consider, etc. In the long run, the $70 or so you spend on the software will be a small price to pay.
If you’re curious what the paperwork looks like, pay the $70 or whatever… but if you decide to instead use a lawyer, DON’T share the online generated paperwork with them. I made the mistake of doing similar with my divorce, and it complicated things and lead me to believe certain things were required when they were simply included in the online generic paperwork as a 1 size fits all bandaid.
If you’re curious what the paperwork looks like, pay the $70 or whatever… but if you decide to instead use a lawyer, DON’T share the online generated paperwork with them. I made the mistake of doing similar with my divorce, and it complicated things and lead me to believe certain things were required when they were simply included in the online generic paperwork as a 1 size fits all bandaid.
A divorce is, of course, completely different from making a will. No one should be afraid of revealing something in an online will to their attorney who is helping them make their will.
my brother-in-law paid his lawyer $5000 to prepare his will. When BIL died, it turned out the lawyer didn't sign the will, so it was invalid. Didn't return the fee, either.
So everything went to his wife. His siblings, who were mentioned in the will, tried to sue. It was a mess.
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