Do you have a will?

[Anonymous]

I'm 50 with older teenagers and we never got around to making a will. We don't have much in the way of assets but the big mental block was we never could think of who would take care of the kids if we both died.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If one dies everything to surviving spouse. If both die assets go to trust for the children. Beneficiary designations are allocated accordingly.

Please stop posting about things you know nothing about. This is not true in every jurisdiction. Also, managing assets for minor children when the parents are deceased can be a major PITA.

If you have children, you need a will. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have an old, outdated will.

We are in process of setting up a trust. Go one step further and do a trust, OP.

Hoping that we will inspire my ILs who insist they will simply have "the kids handle all that stuff" (and it's just DH and his recently divorced sister, embroiled in a custody battle and always skating on the edge of joblessness and financial ruin).

My parents set up a trust and we've already experienced the simplicity and easy transition that occurs with a trust after my parent died.

The additional expense and hassle of setting up a trust is worth it in some jurisdictions, but not others. Please don't take legal advice on this forum. Talk to a a estate planning attorney in your jurisdiction for advice.

[Anonymous]

Yes I’m a single mom by choice and wanted to clearly establish guardianship and a trust.

Did it while pregnant just in case anything should happen to me during childbirth.

I hated thinking about it, but seemed important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have an old, outdated will.

We are in process of setting up a trust. Go one step further and do a trust, OP.

Hoping that we will inspire my ILs who insist they will simply have "the kids handle all that stuff" (and it's just DH and his recently divorced sister, embroiled in a custody battle and always skating on the edge of joblessness and financial ruin).

My parents set up a trust and we've already experienced the simplicity and easy transition that occurs with a trust after my parent died.

The additional expense and hassle of setting up a trust is worth it in some jurisdictions, but not others. Please don't take legal advice on this forum. Talk to a a estate planning attorney in your jurisdiction for advice.

Curious where this wouldn't be worth it or under what circumstances.

Dealt with a huge headache and years-long issue with elderly, never married relative who lived at subsistence level in Maryland.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, of course. After I got pregnant.

And a living will, power of attorney and medical power of attorney.

Same here. When I was 6 months pregnant with my we did everything. Need to revise the guardians now that dhs parents are older and we have two kids.

[Anonymous]

My wife's parents had a will, and a sizable estate. My FIL died a couple of years ago and last year, my wife's sister (her only sibling) died unexpectedly. MIL needs to update her will but is putting it off. For what, I don't know.

We have no idea what will happen to her estate when she dies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My wife's parents had a will, and a sizable estate. My FIL died a couple of years ago and last year, my wife's sister (her only sibling) died unexpectedly. MIL needs to update her will but is putting it off. For what, I don't know.

We have no idea what will happen to her estate when she dies.

If the sister has kids her portion will go to her kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. If one dies everything to surviving spouse. If both die assets go to trust for the children. Beneficiary designations are allocated accordingly.

Please stop posting about things you know nothing about. This is not true in every jurisdiction. Also, managing assets for minor children when the parents are deceased can be a major PITA.

If you have children, you need a will. Period.

I’m pretty sure pp was just answering the question and describing how their will was set up.

[Anonymous]

Yes. I am 35, spouse a couple years older, no kids. We set it up so each of us gets everything if the other dies. If we both die, it goes to a mix of parents, siblings, and specific charities. We also indicated preferences for funeral/burial stuff. It's useful to have these conversations so the surviving spouse or executor knows what we'd wanted.

Just as importantly, we did medical and financial powers of attorney and living wills, so it's clear who will make these decisions if we become incapacitated and what our wishes are in terms of how much medical intervention we want and what we see as important to quality of life.

We used Gina Lynn, who I think does DC and MD. Her office is near Eastern Market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 50 with older teenagers and we never got around to making a will. We don't have much in the way of assets but the big mental block was we never could think of who would take care of the kids if we both died.

This seems like the most important part of the will when you have kids...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 50 with older teenagers and we never got around to making a will. We don't have much in the way of assets but the big mental block was we never could think of who would take care of the kids if we both died.

This seems like the most important part of the will when you have kids...

and that's why we never got a will done.

[Anonymous]

I just learned that my job offers will preparation services through our benefits so I need to start there. I'm a single parent and don't make a lot of money

I don't have much in the way of assets or savings, but my life insurance has my daughter as the beneficiary and she's very young. It's 620K life, and if applicable 1.02M AD&D plus more if related to business travel). This doesn't include a relatively small amount in retirement and DD's fairly new 529.

I already know that I would want my mother in another state to raise DD (dad is in the picture but not the be st choice. No formal custody arrangement exists and he's not on her birth certificate as we lived in different states when DD was born). The major problem is while my mother would do her best to raise and love DD, she is HORRIBLE with money. I wouldn't and couldn't trust her to manage DD's money, but I think that putting it in some sort of trust would cost DD 1/3 of the insurance payout (I'm still learning about this stuff). I think that I have decided to have a dear friend manage DD's finances and essentially send my mother a monthly allowance in which to raise DD, but I'm trying to figure out the best way to set that up along with contingencies if my mother dies before DD is 18, etc.
I would also like to stipulate certain classes/activities for DD like she has now and that my mother may not make a priority, but I'm not sure if that's something that I can enforce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just learned that my job offers will preparation services through our benefits so I need to start there. I'm a single parent and don't make a lot of money

I don't have much in the way of assets or savings, but my life insurance has my daughter as the beneficiary and she's very young. It's 620K life, and if applicable 1.02M AD&D plus more if related to business travel). This doesn't include a relatively small amount in retirement and DD's fairly new 529.

I already know that I would want my mother in another state to raise DD (dad is in the picture but not the be st choice. No formal custody arrangement exists and he's not on her birth certificate as we lived in different states when DD was born). The major problem is while my mother would do her best to raise and love DD, she is HORRIBLE with money. I wouldn't and couldn't trust her to manage DD's money, but I think that putting it in some sort of trust would cost DD 1/3 of the insurance payout (I'm still learning about this stuff). I think that I have decided to have a dear friend manage DD's finances and essentially send my mother a monthly allowance in which to raise DD, but I'm trying to figure out the best way to set that up along with contingencies if my mother dies before DD is 18, etc.
I would also like to stipulate certain classes/activities for DD like she has now and that my mother may not make a priority, but I'm not sure if that's something that I can enforce.

Definitely talk to a lawyer. I don't know that putting it in a trust would cost as much as you think it would. You can also get advice about activities, but I doubt that's something enforceable--and you might not want it to be. What if your 5yo loves ballet but your 15yo does not?

[Anonymous]

We have a will, along with POA and medical directives. If husband or I die, the other spouse gets everything. If we both die and we still don't have kids, our siblings (we each only have one sibling) each get half of the estate. If we both die and DO have kids, our kids get everything and my sister-in-law and brother-in-law are named as guardians. Once we have kids, we'll set up a trust to be set up in case of our death that will house our assets/life insurance proceeds.