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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My divorce lawyer, when I asked for a recommendation for an estate lawyer for a will, said since I didn’t own any property I didn’t need a will yet. Is that true? My assets are in liquid investments and pension at the moment. I am 43. [/quote]

With brokerage accounts and IRAs/401ks you can designate beneficiaries in the accounts - so there's no need to have a will. Depending on where you live there's also a threshold for other assets below which probate is not needed. In the case of my MIL, the value of any items beyond her bank accounts was maybe $8,000 - a 20 yr old car and some furniture. She did not own any real estate. The value of her brokerage/IRA accounts was about $400,000 but those all had designated beneficiaries set to TOD (transfer on death). End result was no probate needed.

When I think you need a will beyond owning real estate:
1. you have children and want to designate a guardian in case you pass away while they are minors
2. you have funds TOD to a person who you want to further subdivide them - for example, if you have kids you might TOD to a sibling and ask them to put funds in trust for your children in the future. Or you have 2 children and one is still a minor. In this case it's best to set up TOD to the person who would be the executor of your estate. You need a will to designate your executor.
These are items that could still go in a simple one page will you can write with a kit or online website and get notarized...no need to have a lawyer draw it up for you if it's that simple.

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