TheBansheeofBebop

I don’t have children or much property so I am in the process of doing a simple will. I used LegalZoom. In the past we went to a lawyer to get started on this and he wanted SSNs of all possible beneficiaries. It became so complicated that I decided to make a simple will leaving everything to my husband.

And I REALLY need my husband to write a will, because he already HAS an existing will that leaves everything he owns to his late wife (he was a widower when I met him), or his nieces and nephews.

I know that a surviving spouse can elect against the will in some states, so that even if she’s not named in the will and hasn’t agreed beforehand to give up any rights in her husband’s estate, she’s entitled to a portion of the estate just because of the marriage relationship, but even if that’s allowed, part of the estate WILL go to people he hasn’t seen or spoken to in almost 20 years. And my husband is not much of a planner. I guess nobody really likes to write a will.

I basically want a will that will nullify the one he signed years before we ever met. There are no children involved, and it’s not as if we actually HAVE anything, except for our house, which, if we’re lucky, might be paid off in our lifetimes.

LOL, in October it will be 20 years from the date we were first married. I think that’s long enough :)

The breakup was my fault. There was no cheating or no one else in the picture on either side. I was cruel and stupid, and lacked the faith or fortitude that we would get through a very bad economic patch. Luckily he remarried me a couple of years after the split. That was 8 years ago, and I still regret the way I hurt him every day. It’s the only serious regret I have.

But am I glad to be back with him? Absolutely!!

I am currently studying for the BEC exam, which I’ve scheduled for end of August. It’s slow going. I haven’t taken economics or finance in 20 years (thankfully nothing much has changed from what I remember learning at Baruch). I do the tests but I am not getting high grades at all. But I suppose it’s better to face my ignorance sooner than on exam day, I suppose :)

Good luck to everyone!