Can I make a will without a stupid lawyer involved?
2007-03-03 06:14:01 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
and I don't want anyone else knowing how much I have. I have a lot of dough.
2007-03-03 06:16:27 · update #1
If you have no will, you will die "in testate" which means that the state you live in will decide who gets your money. If you have no relatives, the state will get your money. There are do-it-yourself wills. Many are available on line, or you can buy a kit at a low cost. Also, remember that lawyers are bound by a code that will not allow them to disclose your financial information to other people.
2007-03-03 06:18:22 · answer #1 · answered by la buena bruja 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, from personal experience - if there's no will - your money kinda goes into a limbo state for quite a while. That is, if your parents are no longer around, or if you have no immediate spouse.
Best thing would honestly be to contact a lawyer, but there's always those websites you can visit that teach you how to go about doing it as well.
If you haven't already, check out the google monster, and see where that gets you.
2007-03-03 06:19:14 · answer #2 · answered by MSTiePup 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, you can, but not advisable. There are online sights that can help you set it up. But, if you don't set up a proper will, your estate automatically goes into probate and your family will have to fight over who gets what. The courts may order that someone you really don't care for gets say-so over your stuff.
Best thing is to get a lawyer involved, you get to pick the person to be your trustee. Someone who you trust to carry out your wishes that you will put into your will. If you have a will you can also avoid loosing most of your hard earned wealth to taxes and put to good use, if not to friends and relatives, to charities, philanthropic institutions.
2007-03-03 06:22:32 · answer #3 · answered by Cotton 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your state of residence has laws on the book that say how an estate is to be divided up if someone dies without a will.
I've been through that, trust me you don't want to do that to your family, unless you are married and all assets were acquired in marriage. Then the spouse gets everything.
When my father passed away, he had significant assets acquired before marriage, and the evil stepmother got most of it, even though he had verbally stated his wishes to all of us that the kids would get his "separate property."
You can buy a software package called Willmaker this is fine for simple wills.
2007-03-03 06:22:52 · answer #4 · answered by Uncle Pennybags 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you can. There is software and preprinted forms that you can use to write your own will. But you probably would need it to be notarized.
The cost of the forms or software ranges from 10 to 30 dollars.
Make several copies of your will so your relatives can find it.
2007-03-03 06:21:55 · answer #5 · answered by sven_kirk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You die Intestate and all your relatives line up and fight over your stuff.
A probate court then decides who gets what.
Legalzoom has forms to make your own will. I know someone that used their stuff to make a trust and said it worked well.
2007-03-03 06:18:04 · answer #6 · answered by Faye H 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋