Writing a will with kids

[Anonymous]

Need to get on our post-baby paperwork. Other than a will, what else do we need to do?

Any good resources on how to write a will, establish guardianship, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Honestly, pay a lawyer to take care of this. After going through the loss of both parents while still a minor, there were A LOT of little nuances that were missed and made these much more difficult.

[Anonymous]

Our work offers this as part of our legal resources benefit. Honestly we dragged out feet and did not do it when our DS was born. We only got around to it when our nephew was born, and our sister asked us if we should prepare reciprocal documents. I think it does help to meet with a lawyer. If you do not have this as a benefit, we were quoted between $600-$700 in fees. Also, when discussing this we realized we had far too little life insurance and realized we needed to review that as well.

[Anonymous]

Do not do this on your own. Get a lawyer. You'll need a trust and a will.

[Anonymous]

Please go see a lawyer about this. This field is complex and having a proper will and guardianship agreement is important enough that you really don't want to mess around and do an amateur job. A good wills and estates lawyer will deal with guardianship issues, any tax issues relating to the estate, and should also be able to draw up papers for you relating to important end-of-life type decisions (advanced medical directive). Don't do this by buying the Staples write-at-home will kit.

[Anonymous]

I agree, see a lawyer. You'll need a will but also medical directives, trust, etc.

[Anonymous]

Not the OP, but the couple of anecdotal reports I've heard both said the cost would be around $2k. Which I haven't done because....$2k??

Can anyone else weigh in on what it cost for a fairly straight-forward will and trust?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not the OP, but the couple of anecdotal reports I've heard both said the cost would be around $2k. Which I haven't done because....$2k??

Can anyone else weigh in on what it cost for a fairly straight-forward will and trust?

We are in DC. Ours was about $800 including health care directives, guardianship, and trusts.

[Anonymous]

Anyone have recommendations for lawyers in D.C.?

[Anonymous]

We used Jennifer Fairfax and liked her a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do not do this on your own. Get a lawyer. You'll need a trust and a will.

errrrrr. Most people don't need a trust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Need to get on our post-baby paperwork. Other than a will, what else do we need to do?

Any good resources on how to write a will, establish guardianship, etc.?

You need to give one another medical power of attorney, and a DNR if you want one.

[Anonymous]

We paid $800 in Fairfax.

[Anonymous]

This is OP. Any recommendations for lawyers in MoCo or the nearby area then?

I looked into the above recommendation of Jen Fairfax, but it seems she primarily deals in adoption and reproductive law.

[Anonymous]

We paid $2100 in Chevy Chase for wills - interesting I never knew that we each needed our own will, trusts for each, power of attorney, DNR, etc.