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Old 06-21-2016, 10:34 AM
 
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Hi, can anyone recommend an attorney in Charlotte, NC to prepare a will please?

Thanks in advance,
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Old 06-21-2016, 04:57 PM
 
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Not sure your financial situation but there are better ways to execute a will versus going to a lawyer. There are several software solutions that are a much better value is your estate is going to be under a million.
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Old 06-22-2016, 02:41 AM
 
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my feeling is there is no such thing as a simple will in most states regardless if you are high net worth or not ..

i firmly believe when it comes to this stuff with no do overs allowed do not use internet canned documents , see a specialist.

i have dealt with one defective will and 1 defective trust already in my lifetime.

much of what protects your wishes is not even in the documents. it is protocol and is the questions asked at the signing in front of witnesses.

state laws change on the fly . we had a co-worker hit a snag because the internet form used was not the new statutory form required as mentioned below.

we hit a snag on the refinance of a house we inherited through a simple will.

it read i leave my house and possessions to my child beth.

the title company stopped the refinance since a word was missing. that word was ONLY " as in only child.

well i had to pay all the attorneys for the day and lost my rate while we got affidavits there were no other children.

we had a court rule a trust defective as well as it lacked a sentence relating to predeceasing the parents.


as the judge told us , it is clear what the intentions were but he cannot re-write history or add missing words.



some of the issues those who use canned documents in our state ,ny run in to are :

Preparing and executing a valid health care proxy provides a good illustration. The health care proxy is a document that allows an individual to appoint an agent to make health care decisions in casethey become incapacitated.

The main purpose of the health care proxy is to appoint an agent. There is a presumption that the agent knows the principal’s wishes. Nonetheless, according to New York State case law, if a principal’s wishes regarding the withholding of artificial nutrition and hydration are not articulated, an agent will not be able to make such decision.

Based on this case law, it is imperative for the principal to set forth their wishes regarding the administering of artificial nutrition and hydration either in the actual health care proxy or in a separate living will. Failure to do this can result in unforeseen consequences – which is exactly what the principal was trying to avoid in the first place. Secondly, many individuals erroneously believe that they can appoint more than one agent at a time on a health care proxy. This would make the document faulty because only one agent at a time can make medical decisions. A person drafting a health care proxy can add language to avoid insulting other family members, but again- this requires the help of someone with experience. Finally, the document must be witnessed by two individuals in order for it to be validly recognized. A person should not have his agent, spouse or child be a witness to the signing.

there are even more problems in the area of powers of attorney. The main purpose of a power of attorney is to appoint an agent to act on an individual’s behalf with respect to financial matters in case you become incapacitated.

Many people innocently refer to this document as one that is “simple” to prepare. This could not be further from the truth. Firstly, New York State passed legislation effective September 2009 in an attempt to create a statutory form that would be uniformly accepted. This legislation was the result of tremendous abuse that was found in this particular area, with some appointed agents taking advantage of the disabled and elderly.

The new power of attorney law results in a much lengthier document, and significantly restricts the actual power given to the agent over financial matters. If transfers are to be made on behalf of the principal, a separate gift rider must be executed. The gift rider must specifically articulate the agent’s power to make gifts to himself/herself or to third parties. Further, any additional powers beyond those enumerated in the statute, must be added to a modification section.

Finally, while the law mandates banks, brokerage houses and other financial institutions to recognize the power of attorney, the form utilized must be statutory. Accordingly, if someone decides to cut corners and download a form from the internet, this may result in a tremendous disservice because if the form is not statutory, it does not have to be legally recognized. The power of attorney is an extremely important tool for estate and elder law practitioner. If the principal incorrectly drafts and/or executes this form, their ultimate plans regarding Medicaid eligibility or gifting to loved ones could be completely stalled . It is imperative to have this document prepared by someone well experienced .


A last will and testament is yet another document that must be prepared under the supervision of any experienced attorney. After the person who executed the will dies the will gets admitted to probate .

Through the probate process, the will is reviewed and the court checks to make sure the will was drafted and executed properly. The number of witnesses, the affidavit they sign and the way the will is fastened are some examples of what the court reviews. Any mistakes, such as the removal of a staple or an ambiguous bequest can result in unnecessary delays, costly legal fees, and at worse, an inability to complete the probate process.

i would not even use a general practitioner for a will . the documents we had trouble with were done by a general practitioner and not an estate attorney .
the first thing our estate attorney said when looking at those documents were that no experienced estate attorney would have ever missed those points

Last edited by mathjak107; 06-22-2016 at 03:51 AM..
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Old 06-22-2016, 04:48 AM
 
Location: The Triad
34,090 posts, read 82,716,942 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Monjam View Post
Hi, can anyone recommend an attorney in Charlotte, NC to prepare a will please?
This is the sort of Q to ask your family attorney or CPA or Insurance agent.
Or at least someone you have reason to trust on the recommendation.
Not strangers on the internet.

If you don't already have these people in your life you probably don't need a will.
Well, certainly not any sort of sophisticated will.

Some sort of living trust on the home might just solve most of it.
Some more reading: Suze Orman Resource Center : Wills and Trusts : Personal Financial Guru : Can I Afford it : Suze Show
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Old 06-22-2016, 04:52 AM
 
106,242 posts, read 108,237,907 times
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there is really no such thing as a sophisticated will . that is why they are called simple wills . there is not much you can specify in a will . trusts are where things get complex .

wills are simple but they have to be correctly worded perfectly and perfectly can mean different things in different states with different unwritten protocols used to execute them that while not required can make life down the road simpler and more problem free .

do not assume because you have little that you don't need to get this stuff right . your death can be the result of an accident or wrongful death and suddenly where you had no money the estate now has lots of money for heirs to deal with and the issues that go with it. there isn't a day that goes by that isn't the case for some family's.

we got stung 2x by poorly constructed wills and trusts so i have seen first hand how these supposed simple documents can end up creating havoc and expenses for heirs when they are not 100% correct . . . . .

the saying nothing is a problem until it is a problem has never been more truer then with our legal documents, only they have no do overs by the time it is discovered .

.

Last edited by mathjak107; 06-22-2016 at 05:01 AM..
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Old 06-22-2016, 07:43 AM
 
Location: Forests of Maine
37,331 posts, read 61,154,439 times
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States do make it complicated.

We are in a probate now. The deceased only had one living relative. That relative was named the executor and the only beneficiary. However there are properties in multiple states. What should have been simple, is not.

We have one attorney in the decease's home state. We are trying to locate an attorney for this state. Last week we met with the fifth attorney here. Each of the previous four attorneys were recommended as this should be within their skill set. But after sitting with each of them for an hour, no. Each time they referred us to another attorney. Hopefully this fifth attorney will be capable of handling this probate.

What should be easy, might not be easy.
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Old 06-22-2016, 11:53 AM
 
4,862 posts, read 7,945,756 times
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Laws change so do it yourself programs may not be the best route. Also if you read the mice type on the do it yourself forms they suggest the Will be reviewed by an Attorney. Also for some a better option could be a trust.

I offer a membership that can help but of course there's no advertisements allowed.
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Old 06-22-2016, 12:42 PM
 
106,242 posts, read 108,237,907 times
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good luck getting any attorney to ever read over someone else's will . they will not .

there are to many minefields in wording and they want only their own they use .
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Old 06-22-2016, 04:04 PM
 
995 posts, read 3,924,975 times
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Sounds like some of you had headaches with executing an imperfect will. If you don't mind, can you share your story? It will convince ppl like me to use a lawyer instead of a software.
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Old 06-22-2016, 04:31 PM
 
106,242 posts, read 108,237,907 times
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it is complex but i will explain .

my wife's deceased husband had 2 children who were estranged from the family .

their grandpa specifically wrote them out of his will and trust by name since no one saw them for decades once mom moved out of state .

grandpa died and all assets passed to grandma . before grandma died my wifes husband who was their son died .

when my wifes husbands mother died the will and trust had to pass through the courts .the judge realized there was no provisions for the son dying before his mom in the trust and will .

there was nothing in the paper work about predeceasing . it was just plain left out .

so the judge asked to see my wifes deceased husbands will . that will called for treating all his children equally .

the judge said it is clear as day that grandpa's intention was those grand kids were to get nothing . but he said he can't add the missing sentence and rewrite history .

a court would have to decide the outcome and those grandkids had to be notified there was a will and trust that they may be part of .

they got lawyers and a battle was on . when the smoke cleared the kids ended up getting their share when grandpa wanted them to get nothing
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