make a will

I am getting this started this week. I’ve found it a little daunting deciding who to do this for me. I’ve heard you can do this on-line but I’m not sure what is best

I should either do this…or delete this.

A PLAN . . . that is what I need:
I’ve ordered a book that will familiarize me with the steps I need to take so that I know what I want/need BEFORE I visit with an attorney. I’ve met with a planner who specializes in estate organizing and have ordered a tool to help me organize so that I will have everything together, on-hand, in one place in the event of my sudden death.

I’m not sure why I’ve not done this before. Time just slips away and before you know it your child is 5 years old and the will you started, when you were pregnant and feeling ultra-responsible, has become an after-thought. How many times I’ve mentioned it to my husband and yet, we’ve made no real effort. My goal is to complete OUR wills and organize our estate before the end of the year. In fact, I hope to have it done far before that. I am creating my plan, will work my plan and have my estate in order shortly! Wish me luck and let’s see how it goes!

1. We are having a baby and need to consider arrangements for his/her future should we not be here. That would involve:

a. Who will take care of the baby should anything happen to us while s/he is still a child.

b. Making sure that the baby receives the most we can leave, as a child or adult, when we are gone – inheritance tax/probate etc need to be sorted.

2. We also need to consider each other should one of us pass away before the other.

3. Because we own a house and it’s the biggest possession we have to leave behind.

We bought the Suze Orman Will and Trust Kit the other night and started working our way through it. Our assets are not complicated so the process should not be complicated. Maybe we will get this one done soon!

My parents have been banging on about this for years, not about the big stuff, like the house, car, any money they might have, but about all the stuff, valuable or not, they have collected or inherited over the years and which might be of sentimental value to my brothers and me. There are carpets, music boxes, china, christmas decorations and so and on. They are petrified we would fall out over stuff like that and, having seen this happen with other people, I see their point.
Last christmas they finally started compiling a list and asked our opinion, it was beyond weird but also felt good to be able to talk about it and explore what everyone thought.

For myself, I don’t have much, but we might buy a house soon and then it will be very necessary and it would be good to appoint a guardian for any possible children before having them, because in the excitement you might forget. We were thinking about one of my brothers and just thinking of that makes me choke up.
Then there are little things I have inherited from relatives which I would like to be passed on in my family and maybe I’d like to write a few letters for people, maybe saying stuff you normally don’t.
Ok, this is hard, but it really makes you evaluate what is important and how you think of people. I will get round to it bit by bit.

We don’t have wills and we must. If something were to happen to my husband, under Virginia law, his girls would get 2/3 of everything, including our home. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they should be left out in the cold but I have contributed 1/2 to everything we have and it is all I have. They have a mother whose annual income is more than ours combined so they won’t be penniless by any stretch of the imagination. This is about common sense and looking out for our future. We have already contacted a lawyer. Now we just need to do the paperwork. It should not be too complicated. Our financial lives are quite simple. This one should be accomplished soon.

But we need the money to pay for it. Blah.

it’d be kinda cool

I feel much more comfortable knowing that I am protected in case of disaster. Tom and I each made a will, so that we are both taken care of, and so that our wishes concerning our children are known. It was really easy, and not very expensive. It feels good to get important things done.