A few years ago, I started a poll asking people if they have a will and if they had minor kids have they named a guardian over them. Thread here. At that time, just under 50% of the dopers that responded indicated that they had no will.
There’s another current thread discussing “marriage dilemma”, about a father that remarried and upon hid death left the house to his second wife, and the kids from the first marriage, got nothing. Majority of the respondents to that thread have voiced that it was up to the father to make a decision of how his estate should be settled, and that his wishes should be respected, even if he did it carelessly or with much thought.
So have you made any thought to how your things should be settled upon your death? Do you have a will? I wonder if the % will go up or down.
We’re in a second marriage and knew that our adult children may squabble about some items after we’re gone. We both inherited some lovely (valuable) antiques and jewelry from our respective families and can see hints of how things might become from the odd comment made.
We’ve split our assets into equal portions so each “child” regardless of blood line will get the same amount. I am in the process of identifying family heirlooms with as much history as I know to put into a record. The intention is that heirlooms will stay in the blood line and it’s up to the blood siblings to determine who gets what of great-great grandma’s whatever. I will provide that record to our executor (a friend) who will use it to guide the distribution. Anything that my husband and I purchased together is up for grabs.
In the event that my husband or I predecease the other and are still in the market for a spouse - we have an agreement (on pain of haunting) that we will preserve the elements of the present will and ensure our offspring inherit both assets and chattel as outlined in our joint will.
My husband and I are expecting our first child in January. We don’t have a ton of assets (no antiques or heirloom jewelry for us!) but we have a house with equity, paid off car, life insurance, 401Ks, etc. We recently met with a lawyer and drew up a trust. We named my brother and his wife guardians of our child (they have 3 lovely children already and are excellent parents). We sign the papers on Tuesday.
Yes. Mostly it was to establish who would be taking care of the kids if a meteor took out me and my wife at the same time. Once the divorce is final I’m going to get a new one done.
I’m single with no children so it’s not a big issue for me. Anyone who is willing to sort through my crap can reap the benefits of selling it. I suppose I should choose godparents for my turtles. My instinct would be to leave everything to my brother. He’s the person I name as beneficiary whenever there’s been a freebie life insurance thingy that comes with something else.
Nah. I don’t have a spouse or kids. My stuff would go to my brother…or my parents? If it went to my parents they’d give it to my brother. It’s not complicated at all.
Nope, no will. I’m single, 30, both parents living, no children. I have very little assets…a nine year-old used car is my most valuable possession. Meager savings, and I rent a place.
For my 403(b) and life insurance through work I did have to name someone as the beneficiary, so I have my parents.
Things vary state by state but even those that think you don’t have much to leave may want to look into your state’s probate laws. A quick and cheap will might save your loved ones a bunch of probate heartache in their time of grief.
I don’t have or need a will. I don’t have substantial assets, and my daughter is the age when the law gives a child a lot of say in where they go. Even before she was that age, there was no point because her dad would probably get first dibs no matter what I said.
Married 15 years with a house and no kids. Yes we have a will that includes a mutual power of attorney so either of us can decide what to do in the event the other is a vegetable. Like a good MTV acoustic set, both of us have chosen to be “unplugged”.
Regarding the disposition of our stuff, the other gets everything including anything coming to us from any dead relatives on the other side. There is a couple who are our best friends, and the husband of that couple is the executor and is very good with money. He gets $100/hr out of the estate fund for any work he does related to being an executor, and he is impeccably honest so I’m not worried about that. Other than one item each that we designated to go to a niece and other friend, everything else gets liquidated as the executor sees fit. My wife has two (poorer) sisters and I have one (richer) sister. The money from the estate gets divided 1/3 for each with the understanding that her sisters need it more. Simple and easy, and we had an attorney draft the will (rather than using Legalzoom or other DIY thing) to make sure it’s totally legit. We’ve had the will in place for about 13 years now and I have no intent, nor do I see any reason to change it, short of the executor dying before us.
Technically I probably have a will. It was supposedly done by my ex’s lawyer during the divorce. But I never got a copy and it’s hellaciously out of date. Not to mention being drawn up in a different state.
So effectively I have no will. I do have beneficiaries on my retirement accounts, which are the only assets of any size. My house is significantly under water. Nothing else is worth much, and it would be divided exactly the way I’d like under the intestacy rules. So I’m not feeling much pressure to get it done.
Yes, I have a will. It was done long enough ago that my youngest child was a minor and the two older children were named his guardians. He will be 39 later this year. Aside from that provision, there has been no reason to change. It all goes to my wife unless she predeceases me and then it is all divided equally among the children. Her will, drawn at the same time, is the mirror image of mine. In Quebec, “notarial wills” (drawn up by a notary) are registered and need no probate. How this works if, say, I made a handwritten change, I don’t know. I suppose I would have to inform the college of notaries.
Yes. After son #2was born (there won’t be any more) was born we had our wills and power of attorney drawn up. Decided who would care for the boys if we both died etc.
ETA: I did my first will myself when I was single using a legal will kit before my trip to India, just as a precaution.