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We went to visit a buddy of mine here in New York Monday ...he has severe Parkinson’s ..he is paying 14k a month ... luckily he is divorced and does not have a wife to support to ....he just spent down his dough and just started on Medicaid ....at these rates money goes like water
We went to visit a buddy of mine here in New York Monday ...he has severe Parkinson’s ..he is paying 14k a month ... luckily he is divorced and does not have a wife to support to ....he just spent down his dough and just started on Medicaid ....at these rates money goes like water
Yes it sure can
I shudder what could happen if this nation continues on its present course..
My attorney (wife) does trusts for about $1500 to $2000. You avoid the cost of probate, which could be well in excess of tens of 1000s of dollars. Plus probate could take a year or two to distribute the estate. With a trust the distribution could be as quick as 41 days in most states. But of course you’ll be dead so it won’t matter to you.
But this is for fairly large estates on up, correct? Smaller estates don’t need trusts.
We set up a living trust in MO. When we moved to WA, we had everything looked at, and restated according to the state law. But right off the bat the attorney caught a mistake that could have caused tax liability for heirs.
You see, in MO, DH had looked for a “bargain” attorney, who worked for us at “bargain” price. In WA, we got experienced attorney with established practice. The difference in service was night and day. Even then, DH caught a couple of mistakes in wording in the document which had to be corrected. But I was shocked that original attorney made such a rookie mistake.
People tend to look for cheap, simple solutions to complex problems. The OP is certain he wants charities to receive his assets. If he wants to make sure no family members receive any of his assets, he needs to find an attorney who has experience with wills. Winging it with the will, could lead to challenges to the will, which could lead to a different outcome than what he desires.
But this is for fairly large estates on up, correct? Smaller estates don’t need trusts.
We set up a living trust in MO. When we moved to WA, we had everything looked at, and restated according to the state law. But right off the bat the attorney caught a mistake that could have caused tax liability for heirs.
You see, in MO, DH had looked for a “bargain” attorney, who worked for us at “bargain” price. In WA, we got experienced attorney with established practice. The difference in service was night and day. Even then, DH caught a couple of mistakes in wording in the document which had to be corrected. But I was shocked that original attorney made such a rookie mistake.
People tend to look for cheap, simple solutions to complex problems. The OP is certain he wants charities to receive his assets. If he wants to make sure no family members receive any of his assets, he needs to find an attorney who has experience with wills. Winging it with the will, could lead to challenges to the will, which could lead to a different outcome than what he desires.
Trusts may be needed by all size estates ....
For starters you can not leave assets to minor children ...you may have kids with special needs ....you may want special instructions carried out or clauses ....there is no end to the reasons trusts are used
If you want to do a will for free a will in your own handwriting and signed by is legal anywhere. Get it notarized for that extra layer of legal protection. A typed will, does require two witness signatures. Notarized for that extra layer of protection. We are talking up to $20.
Do note that a will does not eliminate probate and court costs to transfer estate assets. A will simply states your wishes. A trust however, will save your estate many $1000s of dollars and speed the process from a year or two to four months.
Holographic (handwritten) wills are not “legal” everywhere.
Another reason for the OP to get an attorney to prepare a will, even if it’s a basic will rather than relying on internet experts.
I have an update, I just had my will done and the lawyer told us a "will horror story". A woman had an online will made a decade ago. Her friends some of whom one was a lawyer said they would make her one for free, she refused not wanting to trouble anyone. She got cancer and died. For 10 years, yes, "TEN YEARS" her case has dragged out leaving her child no money as the lawyers drain the estate with their fees and work.
See, here is the dirty secret of wills and probate in my humble opinion, the law is not about seeking to clarify what the decedent wanted, but to disprove those attempting to collect wrongly This emphasis and direction is causing an injustice. So the more money someone leaves and it is disputed, the bigger the "feeding frenzy" of lawyer sharks eating up the estate.
I would like reform-I feel it is one of the worst legal injustices of our time.
The missing verbiage I mentioned above pertaining to predeceasing cost us 100k in legal fees and more then a year of legal work to resolve. Plus we ended up having to buy out the estranged step children which were supposed to get nothing . But the documents were defective because they failed to address the son predeceasing his parents
Wills must be probated. In Cali it's $250 when you open and $250 when you close. In between are all sorts of other fees. But the biggie is an attorney's schedule of fees:
4% of the first $100,000 of the gross value of the probate estate.
3% of the next $100,000.
2% of the next $800,000.
Ridiculous! Get yourself a "How To Do Your Own Revocable Trust" for $29.95 with tear-out forms. It doesn't have to be filed in court and it will save you tens of thousands of dollars.
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