My Mom wants to make her will, and I was wondering if anybody here has had any experience with will-generating software, like Quicken Willmaker.
How comfortable are you folks with this route? It costs hundreds of dollars to have a lawyer make a will, but the software is like 50 bucks and I think then you just need to get it notarized.
Any information on this subject would be very welcome.
It depends on the software, and upon the deponent’s ability to select the proper clauses, to modify where appropriate, and to perform the requisite execution.
Most lawyers use legal software to draft wills, or else have their own database of precedent clauses. What the deponent is paying for is not just the document itself, but more importantly the knowledge of the lawyer who ensures (and also insures via E&O) that the job is done properly.
If the software was written by a lawyer in the deponent’s jurisdiction (laws can vary), and if the deponent’s estate will be negligible, and if the deponent’s family is not dysfunctional, then the risk of an out-of-the-box will might be acceptable.
If the will kit was written by a person not exerienced in a particular jurisdiction’s requirements, or if the estate was of significant size or complexity (particularly with regard to tax planning), or if a family member or ex might stir up trouble when the executor is trying to clear the estate, then a will kit might be a very poor choice, and a visit to a lawyer for a discussion over estate planning would be wise.
I have seen good will kits improperly used. I have seen bad will kits. I have seen will kits that simply do not apply in my jurisdiction. I have seen will kits used when the deponent really wanted to set out powers of attorney. And yes, I have seen good will kits properly used.
Usually when folks call to ask me to review their will kits, I explain that it would be cheaper to simply have me draft the will and POAs myself.
Just to add to Muffin’s excellent response, it also depends upon how fancy your mom wants to get. If she wants to leave equal shares of her stuff to each of her children, a will kit can be just fine.
On the other hand, if she wants to leave her diamond brooch to her cousin Mavis, but only if Mavis divorces that no-good layabout of a husband, and only if Mavis continues to live east of the Mississippi, a will kit is a bad idea - the software would have a tough time coming up with conditional bequests that would stand up to any sort of challenge.
She wants to just split everything between my sister and myself.
Per stirpes or not?
Sorry, I’m not trying to be a smart ass, it’s just that sometimes even simple things are not that simple. (Per stirpes means that if you have kids and die before your mom, then your kids would get your share, whereas not per stirpes would mean that your sister would get everything). If you go with a will kit, be sure it covers this.
You know, if a visit to a lawyer resulted in tax savings from a bit of estate planning, it could very well pay for the will. For example, in my jurisdiction (YMMV - I don’t have a clue what the rules are where you live, so take this with a grain of salt) probate fees can be reduced if property is transferred to the kids jointly well in advance of death, or if cash is put into an insurance investment (with the kids, not the estate, as beneficiaries) rather than a bank investment, so for some families the savings from a bit of advice can more than cover both the cost of the advice and the cost of the will.
IANAL, but I do like the NOLO web site.
Here is a specific answer to your question.
Farther down the page are situations where you would want to involve an attorney.
The two main commercial software programs I’m aware of are Quicken WillMaker Plus (only for Windows) and Kiplinger WillPower (Windows and Mac). Note that NOLO sells the Quicken Program (as do plenty of other vendors) as well as “NOLO’s Simple Will Book”.
Again, IANAL but I’ve heard good things about NOLO…might be worth checking out.
Lots of stuff to think about, thanks all.
Consider this, too: Parent A outlives two children B and C, both of whom married and had children, one three (D, E, and F) and one two (G and H). A’s will reads that the estate be divided evenly between A’s children or, if they are deceased, the heirs of their bodies. Do the grandkids get 20% of the estate each, or do the estates of B and C get 50% each, resulting in D, E, and F getting 16.67% each and G and H 25% each?
And, from the personal experience of a long-time co-worker, do not trust intestacy. Her father wanted his rather substantial estate distributed according to New York’s intestate provisions of life-use-of-primary-residence-and-one-third-of-estate to his wife and the other two-thirds split evenly among their three children. So he did not leave a will, believing that the law would act automatically according to his wishes. Net result: with the connivance of the wife and her attorney, she consumed about 80% of the estate, supposedly in maintenance costs on the property, her fees as administrator of the estate, and his fees as counsel to the estate, before what little was left was finally distributed according to law.