No. I’m 26 with nothing but a really nice dining set and loveseat to my name.
My grandmother would get it all anyway.
-
Have you made a will? Yes. And Power of Attorney and Living Wills.
-
If yes, at what age did you first make a will? Hm… We’ve had to redo them when we moved from state to state (Yes, here in the USA, some states will not accept one done in another state) I think I was in my early 30s when we did the first one. We also had to modify it when we had kids.
No, and I desperately need one. My work pays for it - so I really have no excuse to not have this taken care of. 
I don’t have one, but I know I need to. I’m only 27 and I’m single and have no children, but I do have a house and I know how stupid it is to die intestate. There’s a house across the street where the lady died intestate and they couldn’t resolve it, so it became abandoned and squatters used it as a brothel! (Before I moved in.)
How do you go about doing it? Do you just look in the “lawyers” part of the phone book? How do you find somebody?
Yes and no. I signed one years ago as part of my divorce. But it was written up by the ex’s lawyer and I never got a copy. Probably ought to do another one now that the kids are grown.
I made my first will around the time I was 21 or 22, not long after my father died (he was 61). I updated it after I married and then again a year or so ago to change executor and such.
No. I’m 31 and I have nothing much of value and no dependents.
Yes.
35, when my father died. I wanted to make sure that my mother was taken care of if anything happened to me.
You can possibly find online sources for documents. If you’re in Columbia, I can give you some names of two different people who helped me.
- Yes
- I did it last year at 48, after the Terry Schiavo clusterfuck (not that anyone would want to keep my sorry ass body alive). I did the Advance health care directive and tried to make sure I am allowed to die as easily as possible. I’m also under the impression that it is desirable to avoid probate, which can considerably diminish the value of one’s estate. It only cost $300, so it’s worth it if you can manage to drag your ass over to the lawyer’s office. I left money for a drunken Irish wake blow out party WITH NO BODY. I am still looking around for a cheap ash urn that matches my enormous collection of generic pink ceramic Chinese dinnerware, which I will allow to be at the wake, and will be knocked over by one of my uncoordinated drunken heatbag friends. I said I want to be cremated in a cardboard box and have my ashes tossed into the Santa Barbara Channel.
Talk to your friends and family about who they use for their legal work. Look in the phone book under lawyers who handle wills and estates.
If money is tight, shop around for the best price. Be sure to point out how quick and simple your will will be, for you should be able to get the work done for far less than someone with a more complicated situation. Also check out prices for wills done by paralegals.
If money is not tight, shop around for a lawyer with whom you will feel comfortable having a business relationship over many years. As you go through life, things will probably become more complicated – domestic contracts, real estate transfers, business contracts, insurance claims, settling parents’ estates, etc. It can be very useful if you have a lawyer who knows you over a long period, for that lawyer can help steer you through any number of legal matters. (In general, try to have long term working relationships with a doctor, a lawyer, and a banker.)
Something that you will get with a more expensive will is advice from your lawyer on how to structure your assets so as to best get them to your beneficiaries while paying as little tax as possible. This will also get into areas such as what assets are covered by a will and what are not, and depending on your circumstances may also get into how to protect from creditors. If your family life gets complicated, the advice may also cover issues such as problematic relatives, or keeping your estate away from your surviving spouse’s new wife. Since everyone’s life is different, having a lawyer who really knows you is very useful.
In addition to getting a will, you should also get powers of attorney for property and personal care at the same time. POAs let someone of your choice take care of things while you are still alive, but are incapacitated. A will lets someone of your choice take care of things once you have died.
The POA for property will let the person of your choice handle all your financial matters if you are incapacitated. The POA for personal care (a.k.a. a living will) will let the person of your choice handle all your health care matters if you are incapacitated, including placement, treatment and pull the plug decisions.
Finally, consult with your lawyer every time there is a pending change in your life. For example, if you are going to enter into a relationship with someone, consult with your lawer to determine if there is any need to change your will or POAs, or if there is anything else that should be done, such as a domestic contract.
- Yes
- When I was 27 and going in for surgery. My mom demanded I do so (she almost died [she claims she did die, saw the light and everything] during surgery a few years prior). I went to our family attorney, did both the Living Will and the I’m Dead Will. Everyone has copies. Well, the attorney doesn’t anymore. He died and his office staff shredded everything.
Yes.
I had my first will written up when I was 18. Then updated it when I was 22 (after my second son was born), then 27, then 33, to include a living will and healthcare power of attorney.
I’ll be 37 next month and should probably look at it and update it again.
Yes. The first one was shortly after we were married, when I was in my early 20’s. My husband was concerned about his estranged father trying to make a grab for our resources (such as they were) should anything happen to him.
Then, after our daughter was born we made a more elaborate living trust type of thing. I was about 37 at that time.
- Yes
- When I was 18. I suppose, if it’s out there, it’s still legally in force but I doubt anyone has a copy. I’m not in a relationship and will never have children and I’m fine with how Wisconsin’s intestacy laws would handle my meagre estate so I don’t feel the need to write a new one. I’ll come into money when my parents die so maybe I’ll do something then.
-
Yes. And not only a will, but we have a family trust, which is very useful in California.
-
I think at 30, just when our first child was born, we were out of school, and had two pennies to rub together and someone to give them to.
Thanks for the advice, guys - the thing is, right now, I have nothing but the house and nobody to worry about. I do stand to inherit quite a bit of money when my parents die, however. So my situation will grow much more complicated over time.
I’m 46 and didn’t have a will until 3 years ago, when we adopted our son.
Things like that change ones perspective.
-
Had a will prepared when I was married. Military people are required to prepare wills before they deploy to war zones. Also, it’s free. I was not in the Army at the time, but my husband was.
Now I’m divorced and I need a new will, but to my dismay my state doesn’t recognize holographic wills. So I’m going to have to pay a lawyer.
I have no dependents and no life insurance, but a fair amount of money. I want it going to the parties I designate, not to my ex-husband or my worthless siblings. -
I was around 36 at the time.
A couple of years ago, we were having a family conversation when it came out that my in-laws had never made out wills. My wife and I decided to give them a kick in the butt by buying four “at-home will kits”. Then the four of us sat down one evening and had a Will Filling-Out Party.
I was about 36.