QUESTION ON WILLS

I'm not a lawyer but, frankly, I've never heard of a joint will. Normally, I believe, each partner makes out his/her own individual will.

There are definitely joint wills.

And, the answer is, without having any additional information, it depends. How long have they been married? Are there any children? Are there any children from previous marriages or with different parents, due to affairs or premarital relationships? Any real estate? Real estate outside of the state or country? Stocks and other financial holdings? Adopted children? Persons being cared for under guardianships (aged parents, perhaps a developmentally disabled sibling)? Are finances kept separate or commingled? What are the couple's goals in making a will - to care for loved ones, contribute to an alma mater or charitable cause, or what? Is this a stable couple, or have they been separated in the past, either legally or informally?

Preparing wills is a complex matter and cannot be answered in a quickie one-off manner.

I bought some will-preparation software. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

My thoughts: Estate planning is a legally complex endeavor that takes into consideration a multitude of individual variables and goals. Anyone who is serious about estate planning ought to retain the services of an estate lawyer and stay away from do-it-yourself devices.

IMO will-preparation software is useful to lawyers. It can be a timesaver, obviating the need to manually type in every word. Laypeople should stay away from stuff they don't fully understand.

I've never used will-preparation software.

It's more or less unnecessary, any large or medium-sized law firm has better stuff than this built into their IT package.

I think that, for a simple estate, will preparation software would be fine. Most people, after all, divide everything up in their wills about the same way that the state would divide it up in the event that they didn't have wills. On the other hand, if it gets more complicated than "I leave everything to my spouse and kids," or if there would be major tax consequences involved, then you'd be better off engaging the services of a competent attorney.

Most of us have some complications regarding a living will, power of attorney, and, possibly, a trust should both die at the same time.