Just prepared my will online

Marie5656 said:
Well, filing out the will was the easy part. Trying to get it notarized is nuts. I went to my bank. Seems, bank notaries cannot notarize a will. Go to a lawyer they said...any lawyer will do it for you just walk in and ask. NOPE. I found a lawyers office a couple miles from my bank. Went in and asked. NOPE. He said since he does not know me, he was not willing to have someone notarize it for me.
The only lawyer I know professionally is in another town. It was suggested I call him and see if he will refer me to a local lawyer office. Darn.
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I have read somewhere and do not know how accurate it is but if you write your will by hand in your own handwriting, it is legal and you don't need a witness or a notary.

It's from memory and a long time ago. So I don't know if it's still legal.
 

Ive not heard of online Will making My Will was madeup by me and my late Husband many years ago and when he passed away five years ago I made alterations and used the same solicitor and the charges wern't too exhorbitant.

I now in the process of changing it and using the same solicitor as I have two Sons who are my executors and trustees. Too complicated to go online in my case.
 
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While my husband was ill with mesothelioma, we had a trust account done. We had to pay for it upfront, whereas a will written, is after the fact. My husband passed knowing everything was in order, now I can change it whatever way I want. At first, we tried the do it the do it yourself route, but never felt comfortable with it. All is good now.
 

@Camper6 I spoke with a lawyer and she told me that in New York State, it does not have to be notarized. I have already had it witnessed, so I am set there,

@fmdog44 I do not know about whether or not it is useless. I do not have a huge, complicated estate. Everything goes to my niece, and she will also be my executor. Easy peasy. I have it mainly so I have, in writing, what I want her to do with me...cremation, no service, scatter me somewhere of her choice.
 
I hope you had at least two witnesses at the notary


However, while witnesses aren't required to make your will valid, they may be required at the time of probate (after you die) to "prove" your will to the probate court. Pennsylvania law allows you to avoid this hassle by making your will "self-proving." 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3132.1. A self-proving will speeds up probate because the court can accept the will without contacting the witnesses who signed it.

To make your will self-proving, you sign your will in the presence of two witnesses. Then, in a notary's presence, the three of you sign affidavits that state who you are and that you signed your will in the presence of the witnesses. The notary then notarizes your signatures and you attach the affidavits to your will.
 
I think the size of the estate and what kind of assets are involved should be a key to how complicated a will one needs as long as it meets the minimum standards for the state where you live. Requirements should be searchable on line.

I'm not knocking attorneys but they do take care of their own and most state's legislative body has a sizable number of attorneys.
 
Ones death may be the result of a medical malpractice suit , wrongful death , accident , etc .. just because there is no money now does don’t mean there won’t be .

having had two defective documents we ran in to already that caused such aggravation I would never not have these done by the best estate attorney I can find ...

There are no do overs when these things are poorly done ....as the judge said to us ...the intent is clear but I can’t rewrite history or fix missing verbiage
 
For years I had a will that I wrote using a software program that I purchased. Then my Daughter went and married a lawyer (where did I go wrong with her:sneaky:). He offered to write my will and after I reviewed what I had already I agreed with him that my existing will was weak in many areas so I had him do up a better doccument. In Wa State notarization is not required just wittnesses.
 
debbie in seattle said:
While my husband was ill with mesothelioma, we had a trust account done. We had to pay for it upfront, whereas a will written, is after the fact. My husband passed knowing everything was in order, now I can change it whatever way I want. At first, we tried the do it the do it yourself route, but never felt comfortable with it. All is good now.
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Yes. We went the route of getting a lawyer and making a revocable trust. That way, there is no probate and if anything happens to one of us, the other person has immediate access to all assets without going through any court proceedings. Of course, we did the living will, POA, health POA things to cover all legal possibilities. "Regular' wills are next to useless, imho.
 
Make sure everyone understands that living wills are a double edge sword ....revocable wills take a house which is a protected asset in personal name and unprotects it as far as Medicaid goes .

In personal name the dollars the house is worth do not count in the spend down to qualify .

In a revocable trust they now count ..the house has to be sold and the dollars spent on care in order to qualify ....General practitioners rarely are aware of this. To switchback has a 5 year look back.

This is why doing this stuff without great guidance can open a can of worms
 
mathjak107 said:
Make sure everyone understands that living wills are a double edge sword ....revocable wills take a house which is a protected asset in personal name and unprotects it as far as Medicaid goes .

In personal name the dollars the house is worth do not count in the spend down to qualify .

In a revocable trust they now count ..the house has to be sold and the dollars spent on care in order to qualify ....General practitioners rarely are aware of this. To switchback has a 5 year look back.

This is why doing this stuff without great guidance can open a can of worms
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California does not consider one's personal home a countable asset, even when if it's held in a revocable trust. Also, our lookback period is 30 months, not 60.

Each state has its own laws regarding Medicaid eligibility.

Medicaid CA.JPG

https://www.medicaidplanningassistance.org/asset-protection-trusts/
 
When my husband brother passed away.. he was divorced, no kids. He had Real Estate property and other assets and NO WILL. Long story short, with no Will, it took about 8+ years for financial issues to be settled and siblings not speaking to each other. WHAT A MESS.
 
To me when in doubt bite the bullet and seek an attorney. It I not for you because you will be elsewhere but consider those you want to pass your stuff on to. Consider also how up-to-date are you with the ever changing laws in your state?
 
mathjak107 said:
Depending what is being passed a will may have to go through probate lawyer or not
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True..

People also ask
Is Probate necessary if there is a will?
Some people don't want to probate a will. There is no requirement that a will or property go through probate, but if the decedent owned property that is not arranged specifically to avoid probate (see below), there is no way for the beneficiaries to obtain legal ownership without it. There are some exceptions to this.

Probate a will
Featured snippet from the web
Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a last will and testament if the deceased made one. It includes locating and determining the value of the person's assets, paying their final bills and taxes, and distributing the remainder of the estate to their rightful beneficiaries.

court-supervised process...we want to avoid that
 
Camper6 said:
I have read somewhere and do not know how accurate it is but if you write your will by hand in your own handwriting, it is legal and you don't need a witness or a notary.

It's from memory and a long time ago. So I don't know if it's still legal.
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In the US this varies from state to state, as does ALL probate law. Most states no longer recognize holographic (handwritten by you) wills.
 
mathjak107 said:
I hope you had at least two witnesses at the notary


However, while witnesses aren't required to make your will valid, they may be required at the time of probate (after you die) to "prove" your will to the probate court. Pennsylvania law allows you to avoid this hassle by making your will "self-proving." 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3132.1. A self-proving will speeds up probate because the court can accept the will without contacting the witnesses who signed it.

To make your will self-proving, you sign your will in the presence of two witnesses. Then, in a notary's presence, the three of you sign affidavits that state who you are and that you signed your will in the presence of the witnesses. The notary then notarizes your signatures and you attach the affidavits to your will.
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This is also true of New Mexico.
 
Camper6 said:
I have read somewhere and do not know how accurate it is but if you write your will by hand in your own handwriting, it is legal and you don't need a witness or a notary.

It's from memory and a long time ago. So I don't know if it's still legal.
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not only are they not recognized by many states but they can create big problems and expenses for heirs .

we had an issue with a house that was inherited by my ex wife and that was a canned will a general practitioner used .

we refinanced it and all was moving along at the closing . then the title company asked to see the will .

so they read the canned will and stopped the closing .... why ? it simply said to my child beth i leave my house and possessions .

what could be wrong ? it was missing a very key work . that word was ONLY ./ as in ONLY child .

they stopped the closing . i had to pay the banks attorney , the title company and we were paying off a co-op so the co-op attorney ... we also lost our interest rate . we had to get affidavits from relatives she was an only child .
 


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