Making out a Will?

Question

Does a person have to go through a lawyer to have a legal will made up? I don't have much, no property or anything, just personal belongings and antiques I've collected over the years that I'd like my kids to get once I'm gone.

Can I do this myself? How?

I live in Ohio, and expect to stay here the rest of my life.

Answer 1

O.K. first of all, a notary has no jurisdiction or legal significance in the making of a will in any state. Also, you MUST follow the Probate code in the state in which you live (or intend to live when dying) for your will to be valid. Many states do not recognize a holographic will (written in your own hand) and those that do, or that recognize a holographic will created in another state, do so ONLY if the will is prepared and executed in compliance with the probate code in the state in which they were made.

Therefore, to correctly answer your question, we would have to know in what state you reside and if you plan on being there if/when you die.

EDITED FOR ADDITIONAL INFO:
Based on your state, the following are the legal requirements for a valid will:

The testator (person making the will) must be over eighteen years of age. The will must be in writing and signed at the end by the testator. It must be signed in the presence of at least two competent witnesses who must not be beneficiaries under the will and must also sign in the presence of each other. The testator must, in the presence of the witnesses, declare the instrument to be his or her last will and testament.

Therefore, no, the will does not have to be drawn by an attorney.

Answer 2

Wills can be made personally when it is a holographic will as long as the requirements in the Civil Law are followed. Just indicate the recipient of the properties, put the date and signed it.

The will that needs a lawyer is the notarial will.

Answer 3

Hi,

You can do your own without an attorney, if you choose. I believe some of the office supply stores like Office Depot sell Will kits, where you pretty much fill in the information as to who gets what, distribution of property, preferences as to burial, etc. I agree with the previous poster that it's a good idea to let those persons know ahead of time what you want them to have. You also need to let a very trusted friend or family member know exactly where you are placing the original Will, make sure they have access, and give them a copy of your Will, clearly marked "COPY" (you can buy COPY stamps at any Office Supply store). I had a Great Uncle who passed away several years ago, and no one knew where his Will was (and if he even had one!) or how he would have wanted things dispersed. One of the relatives took the lead and dispersed things as he thought fit, then finally toward the end of going through the house the original Will was found, and it was discovered he had named his other child as executor, and nothing dispersed followed his actual requests. You don't want a situation like this to happen.

I would also suggest using your safety deposit box at the bank to store your Will, then make sure your "executor" has a key and access. That's why you want someone you can trust. The safety deposit box just ensures that in the event you perish in your house, like a house fire, or in the event something happens to your home, your Will is not on the property where it can be damaged or lost. You also want someone trustworthy who will act as executor and who can retrieve the original Will, make sure all funeral arrangements are taken care of, and will facilitate the disbursement of property as per your wishes.

Another note on this; my Grandmother, after the incident with my Great Uncle, decided that she didn't want her family to go through the same situation, so she actually gave out the things she wanted people to have early so she wouldn't have to worry. You can do this too if you so choose, and then just make sure your kids know about your wishes for your burial/funeral arrangements.

Another note, you will need to have your Will notarized by someone not related to you or personally known in any way. Most banks have notaries and make them available, usually at no charge to their customers, so this is a good way to find someone with no ties to you. Office supply stores, copy places or anyone who advertises notary services are also options, and although they will charge you, there are caps placed on notary services by the secretary of state's office (which varies for each state), so notaries by law can't charge astronomical fees for their services.

Another suggestion, since you say you have personal belongings and antiques for your children, is in the part of the Will where you would normally assign who gets what, refer the executor to an attached sheet or Exhibit where you specify what you want dispersed. What this will do is allow you to make changes to this list as needed, so if you think of other things to disperse, or you change your mind about something, you're not stuck re-doing your Will every time. When you make changes, thoroughly destroy the original list (a shredder works well), attach the new list, signed by you and dated, to your Will, and also make sure your executor has a copy of this new list and destroys the old one.

Good luck to you with everything, and good for you for thinking ahead! :-)

P.S.) To the poster's comment about a notaries jurisdiction, a notary's job is simply to verify that the person signing is actually who they claim to be by verifying their identity with documentation (i.e., driver's license). While it is true that a notary should not notarize anything that looks illegal or dubious, in any situation where they feel the person(s) is not acting of their own free will, or where the proper language for notarization is not present (usually a Will kit will have a notarization area with the correct language for a notary) they have certain duties given them by the secretary of state's office to verify, acknowledge, administer and certify. True, anyone can dispute a Will, but a notary can at least certify that the original was signed (to their knowledge) by the actual owner, they acted of their own free will when signing, etc. This way, at least anyone disputing will have a harder time saying the Will might have been forged or done under duress. I agree that it is a good idea, though, to check on the laws within your state regarding Wills.

Answer 4

There are will creator software programs that claim to be valid in all states. Use one of those, though you should still look up the laws regarding what makes a valid will in your state to make sure the program is fully compliant.

Answer 5

There is software that does this search on wills. I'd also have all of them over and explain to all who gets what so there is NO misunderstanding otherwise assuming they get along now that could cause a lot of bad feeling.