Making a will - do do-it-yourself sites/kits do the job?

Do not - I repeat - Do not do this yourself. You have children involved and it is very important that everything is done as perfectly as possible. Get the best estate lawyer you can afford and do it ASAP.

Agreed with GW. The main thing about getting a will done right is to assure that your kids are protected, taxes are minimized and legal fights, if any, are readily resolved. This is above and in addition to having your final wishes respected.

If you own a house, you'll need to assign its ownership to someone (can be joint ownership for the kids). Stocks, etc. will also have to be parceled out, as will the proceeds from insurance policies. Other property is generally split but you'd have to specify special pieces (e. g. Grandma's wedding ring, or the boat or whatever). Most importantly, since you have young children, you should be working on providing for them as well as possible in the event that you and your wife pass away before they both hit age 18. And you might even want to hold a rein on finances even after that, as kids (yes, technically they're adults but we all know they are a lot more like kids) tend to have things like tuition and that needs to be cleared up, too, if you can do that. Trusts and 529 plans can be the way to go but I do recommend you talk to someone more up on this stuff than I am.

I do want to say, though, good on you for considering this. My parents have a will and we know their lawyer well (I worked for him several years ago), so I am confident that, at what will surely be one of the hardest times of my and my brother's lives, that that will be something we will not have to worry about. It is a great gift, this sort of peace of mind. Good for you for getting it together to do it for them.

I agree with GreenWitch and Jespah about getting a lawyer. If you know your own mind and make careful, detailed notes of what you want a simple will should not be expensive.

You should also each have Living Wills and Power of Attorney for each other. Death is not always a swift and tidy process.

Good luck.

I totally agree with Noddy. I just went through the experience of dealing with banks, health insurance, hospitals, and various and sundry other health providers during my mother's final years.

With the HIPPA rules in place now, these companies won't even talk to you about another person, unless you have a POA. I must have made up least a dozen copies of my mother's POA in the latter part of her life.

I think you can do it yourself ... I did.




(Actually, I agree with GW, jes, Noddy, & Phoenix ....)

My parents did their own will. It was thrown out by the probate court and the estate was deemed intestate. It turned out ok because they court distributed the estate almost exactly how the will stipulated but there were no small children involved and the estate was fairly simple.

That's 'cause you are a lawyer, Tico.