How to Get an Affordable, Legally-Binding and Error-Free Will Drawn Up.

Do you have a will? If you were to die today, what would happen to your children? What would happen to your spouse? What would happen to the money that you have? If you’re 21 or older, you need to get a will. If you have children or any significant assets, you especially need to get a will. If you don’t have a will and you and your spouse die, the government will choose who’s going to take care of your children. For all you know, they could give them to a foster family that won’t take care of them or the sibling that you would prefer not to have take care of your kids. You might even have designated a god parent, but since it’s not in a legally binding will, your wishes could easily be ignored.

The best way to get a will done is by visiting a local attorney that is trustworthy and you or one of your immediate friends or family members knows personally. They will know all of the legal requirements to have a will be properly made in your state and take care of all of the notarization and other processes that need to be taken care of. Usually you can get a simple will made up for under $100.00 by shooting a quick email or making a quick phone-call and letting them know what you want to make happen. I was able to get a will drawn up by an attorney in the small town that I live in for $53.00 including sales tax.

If you don’t have an attorney in your network of friends, the next best option would be to call around to some local firms and ask how much they would charge to have a will drawn up. You might not get the personal touch that you would have if you went with someone that you know personally, but at least you know that it’ll be done right. You might have to pay a little bit more when dealing with an attorney that you don’t know personally, but it’s still well worth it. Call around to three or four different places so that you can get the best rate.

If at all possible, have an attorney do your will. You don’t want the fate of your children and your total estate to fall into the hands of a piece of “do it yourself” will creation software. Estate law is extremely complicated and if you mess something up in the notarization process or making your will, it could be null and void.  The “do it yourself” will websites might be able to give you a form to fill out and they might even make it state specific, but you have no idea how up-to-date that company is on your specific state’s estate laws and a lot of the responsibility is on you dotting all of the I’s and crossing all of the T’s.

If you have any significant assets, say in the 7 figure range by the time you die, chances are there will be other estate planning needs that you might have as well. In that case, you will most certainly need to have some additional services setup to avoid having your estate be sucked up by taxes upon your death. In that case, you’ll need a lot more than a simple will and then should visit an attorney that deals specifically in estate matters.