Resource creating a last will and testament (in California and other places)

[tomakeitstop]

I briefly saw a few other people mention creating wills in their posts, but no resource guides about how to go about it.
I did a quick Google search but got overwhelmed with information, so I just contacted a local law office for a free consultation.

I'm particularly curious about whether I could name my sister as the executor of my will without her being notified.
And the question of how to obtain witnesses without setting off anybody's alarm bells worries me.

If anyone else has done this already or has other information, please post it here!
I have very specific ideas about how I would like my remains to be handled (I think, well... I'm still deciding) and I want my belongings and the few assets I have distributed in specific ways.

Please help if you can!
Thanks,
Sass

 

[Quiet Desperation]

I briefly saw a few other people mention creating wills in their posts, but no resource guides about how to go about it.
I did a quick Google search but got overwhelmed with information, so I just contacted a local law office for a free consultation.

I'm particularly curious about whether I could name my sister as the executor of my will without her being notified.
And the question of how to obtain witnesses without setting off anybody's alarm bells worries me.

If anyone else has done this already or has other information, please post it here!
I have very specific ideas about how I would like my remains to be handled (I think, well... I'm still deciding) and I want my belongings and the few assets I have distributed in specific ways.

Please help if you can!
Thanks,
Sass

I would run these by a lawyer to be sure because some requirements vary by state. They should be willing to answer questions about the process in a free consultation, and can also help you understand which documents do what, but my understanding is an estate plan usually includes a power of attorney, a living will, and either a will or trust and each of them covers different things.

I think you can appoint most anyone you want if they are of legal age, whatever you decide stays between you and the lawyer, and the law office may have a notary available to witness it for you, but I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice.

 

[~Q~]

the term fake it til you make it seems to apply here. If you are young just tell them you want to make sure everybody is taken care of if you were to get hit by a bus or in a motor vehicle accident. use outrageous examples and make them laugh it off. you can also use the life insurance excuse. "they asked me if i had one and advised me to just in case". (life ins does not cover ctb)

its worked for me so far but im older

 

[tomakeitstop]

I would run these by a lawyer to be sure because some requirements vary by state. They should be willing to answer questions about the process in a free consultation, and can also help you understand which documents do what, but my understanding is an estate plan usually includes a power of attorney, a living will, and either a will or trust and each of them covers different things.

I think you can appoint most anyone you want if they are of legal age, whatever you decide stays between you and the lawyer, and the law office may have a notary available to witness it for you, but I'm not a lawyer and this isn't legal advice.

A lawyer called me back today and told me that in California my best bet for a health directive and living will (with no assets, and no real estate, and no kids) is a completely hand written will. It requires no notarization and no witnesses.

Otherwise I have to pay a flat fee of $700 for her legal services and I'm already struggling to come up with the money for the N.

I'll update this thread with more information as I find it. I'm hoping to find some sort of template, too.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

the term fake it til you make it seems to apply here. If you are young just tell them you want to make sure everybody is taken care of if you were to get hit by a bus or in a motor vehicle accident. use outrageous examples and make them laugh it off. you can also use the life insurance excuse. "they asked me if i had one and advised me to just in case". (life ins does not cover ctb)

its worked for me so far but im older

You don't have to tell them anything at all regarding why you want to make a will. Why would you do that? People that volunteer too much information are always the ones that look suspicious when they do something. All you tell them is that you would like to make your will. Period. They don't care why you want to make your will.

'm particularly curious about whether I could name my sister as the executor of my will without her being notified.
And the question of how to obtain witnesses without setting off anybody's alarm bells worries me.

Yes. No one is notified that you named them as executor of your estate until you actually become deceased. They can turn it down to if they don't want to do it. It may be ask, or suggested to you, that you ask your sister, or have you asked your sister, if she would be willing to be executor if you should die. But, that is on you to do that. If you get asked, just say you already asked her and she is good with it.

As far as witnesses...............I don't have any witnesses at all and I will be getting my will drafted within the next year. Witnesses can be anyone. I suppose it may be harder for you to "explain" that you don't have any witnesses since you're younger. Anyone can witness a will. The law office can supply witnesses. I don't have anyone left to be witnesses, so a law office will have to supply witnesses for me. And witnesses, I believe, have to be people who are not in your will in any way. Anything special about how you want your remains to be handled, or anything about your burial or final wishes, needs to be in your will.

 

[YourNeighbor]

A lawyer called me back today and told me that in California my best bet for a health directive and living will (with no assets, and no real estate, and no kids) is a completely hand written will. It requires no notarization and no witnesses.

Otherwise I have to pay a flat fee of $700 for her legal services and I'm already struggling to come up with the money for the N.

I'll update this thread with more information as I find it. I'm hoping to find some sort of template, too.

If you have no assets, what do you need a will for? If you do have assets, definitely consult with an attorney who specializes in wills.

In most jurisdictions, a holographic (not executed with all the formalities) will is either invalid or may require expensive forms of proof, and may in any case be easily challenged. Again, if you have no assets, who cares, but if you do the suggestion to go with a holographic will is terrible advice. They can easily be challenged even if they are generally allowed, for example for lack of capacity, like if the deceased shows some evidence of mental duress (think, um, suicide).

If you have just a few items you want to give to specific people, the simplest way to do it would be to give those items away while alive.

 

[tomakeitstop]

If you have no assets, what do you need a will for? If you do have assets, definitely consult with an attorney who specializes in wills.

In most jurisdictions, a holographic (not executed with all the formalities) will is either invalid or may require expensive forms of proof, and may in any case be easily challenged. Again, if you have no assets, who cares, but if you do the suggestion to go with a holographic will is terrible advice. They can easily be challenged even if they are generally allowed, for example for lack of capacity, like if the deceased shows some evidence of mental duress (think, um, suicide).

If you have just a few items you want to give to specific people, the simplest way to do it would be to give those items away while alive.

good point. being bipolar and specifically being in the middle of a hypomanic episode right now, they would definitely try to challenge it under the grounds that I was not of sound mind.

no, I have very specific instructions about how I want to be buried. what kind of funeral service I want to have (pagan, not Catholic), and how to donate the majority of my possessions to specific organizations and mutual aid groups instead of it all just getting thrown into the trash.

I have another consult with a law firm on the 6th. it's just so expensive. $700. and N is $750? I don't have that kind of money. I'm drowning in credit card debt already that I'm doing my best to pay off so that it doesn't fall on either of my parents.