need attorney advice about a will

[Deltaduk]

my wife and I are wanting to create a will, in the event something were to happen to us together. Wanting something that would be specific for our kids (who would take care of them ,who we want to handle their affairs)any lawyers on here familiar with this type of situation? please shoot me a PM
thanks

[Ducklord]

pm'd ya.

[merlebo05]

I asked several different lawyers in that I was wanting to do the same and I was told it is not something that has to be done by a lawyer. I was told to just right it up what I want done and have it notory public sign it with one more witness signature.

[Drakeshead]

LegalZoom.com

[Hambone]

LegalZoom.com

Yep, it's always a good idea to get professional advice off the internet.

[Hambone]

I asked several different lawyers in that I was wanting to do the same and I was told it is not something that has to be done by a lawyer. I was told to just right it up what I want done and have it notory public sign it with one more witness signature.

A will doesn't have to be done by a lawyer, but it does have to be drawn up and executed properly. Your last sentence leaves the door open for serious mistakes to be made.

[Drakeshead]

I did my will up on Legal Zoom prior to heading off to Iraq. It takes quite awhile to answer all of their questions, but once it is completed you can print out a copy, but it is not your actual Will. Your Will is sent to you either sent to you USPS or FedEx depending on what you prefer to pay for and will have instuctions for you. I believe all of the pages on mine had a spot for my inititials and some had spots for my full signature. The Major that looked over my Will said it contained more information and details than had the JAG group completed one for me. Legal Zoom will even ask if you have pets, how many pets, what type of pet, to whom you want this pet, or that pet to live with.

You state

A will doesn't have to be done by a lawyer, but it does have to be drawn up and executed properly. Your last sentence leaves the door open for serious mistakes to be made.

So, then why not use Legal Zoom? Most law offices use a program. Someone from the law office sits with you and ask you all of these questions and then they go and put your answer into their program. Pretty much the same thing I did just without having to pay $150 an hour to sit in someones office.

[merlebo05]

how does my last sentence leave you open?? I was told by 3 different lawyers that you need to have a witness to the signing of the will. pretty straight forward!!!

[Hambone]

You state

A will doesn't have to be done by a lawyer, but it does have to be drawn up and executed properly. Your last sentence leaves the door open for serious mistakes to be made.

So, then why not use Legal Zoom? Most law offices use a program. Someone from the law office sits with you and ask you all of these questions and then they go and put your answer into their program. Pretty much the same thing I did just without having to pay $150 an hour to sit in someones office.

I wouldn't use Legal Zoom because most of the do-it-yourself legal stuff I have seen on the internet is defective. If you want to take the risk of doing it wrong (and therefore having a meaningless will) that's your choice.

I bet you don't drill your own teeth or do surgery on yourself. Wills and other legal matters are serious, and relying on anonymous internet advice might not be a very good idea.

[Hambone]

how does my last sentence leave you open?? I was told by 3 different lawyers that you need to have a witness to the signing of the will. pretty straight forward!!!

Well...for one thing, you have to have two witnesses...in some instances. But in others, you don't have to have a witness at all. Still straightforward?

[woody]

Where's Beaudog? He usually has all the answers for the legal matters around here.

[merlebo05]

that's why I said a notarized signature and one more witness, that's 2 witnesses to the testament of your will..still seems straight forward!!

[Long Duck Dong]

Seriously. Get a lawyer to do it. I do wills for people for next to nothing because I hate seeing people die without one. Don't do it yourself.
Yes. You do have to have two witnesses, but you also need both of them to sign affidavits stating that the testator was of sound and disposing mind, etc. If you don't do that then some unlucky person in your family is going to have try to track down your "witnesses" 20 years from now when you die. If you can't find the witnesess then you have a worthless piece of paper.
I had that happen to me a couple months ago. A woman prepared a will back in the 80s and the lawyer who prepared it didn't include the Affidavits of Subscribing Witnesses. I spent about three weeks trying to track down these two witnesses to sign affidavits. I was just lucky they were both still alive.

[Hambone]

Long Duck Dong's advice is dead-on. Listen to what he's saying. And if you are doing a fairly simple will, your home town lawyer is probably going to be less expensive than the potentially invalid on-line version.

And just to address another misconception, a will doesn't have to be notarized, just properly executed and witnessed. There is more to doing that than just signing the document.

I'm not trying to beat anyone up here. A will contest involves one issue: "will or no will." If the Court determines that the will was improperly executed/witnessed, the testator (the one making the will) was not of sound mind or the will was the result of undue influence, it is NO GOOD. Like I said before, wills are serious business.

[Drakeshead]

You do have to have two witnesses, but you also need both of them to sign affidavits stating that the testator was of sound and disposing mind, etc.

You are correct and the Legal Zoom Will has this on their Will's as well. This was all stated in the instructions. It is also best to have it filed at the county clerks office.