2 thoughts on “Wills and Probate, Trust Funds, Living Wills My 86 year old parents are finally…”

1. Re: Wills and Probate, Trust Funds, Living Wills
   I try to give meaningful answers on this bulletin
   board, and not simply use it as an advertising tactic to get people to hire a lawyer.

   However, honestly, I cannot reccommend that one
   write such a will on their own without a lawyer.
   There are lawyers, like myself, who will do a
   will for as little as $350 to $550. The costs of
   a will gone bad when your parents pass on can
   be 20 to 40 times as much in legal bills. So it
   really is a false economy to do it yourself.

   There are standard will forms available for
   purchase on the internet and in bookstores
   (office supply stores), that will approximate a
   complete will. I can’t simply give you the
   topics to include. Much of the wording is very
   important as well. Even if the words don’t have
   to be exactly one way or another, the ideas must
   be written in legally-binding language and avoid
   certain common problems. So I could not give you
   the topics without the actual wording of at least
   one good example of a will to copy from. Also, not all sample wills are equally good. An attorney will use a model that has been time-tested in Virginia’s courts, refined from actual experiences in court challenges. Forms you buy in the store are probably generic nationwide and have not been road-tested in Virginia’s courts.

   However, the words in a will are NOT the only
   thing that matters. It is very important that
   the will be “executed” signed properly. There
   are very precise rules about the witnesses, and
   how they must sign, and when, and whether they
   are all together in one place, and whether they
   know what they are signing, etc.

   I have a client whose mother’s will CANNOT be
   admitted to probate in Virginia, because the
   “self-proving affidavit” of the witnesss does
   NOT say that the mother was of sound mind at the
   time that she signed the will. So, my client is
   looking at flying the witnesses up from Florida
   to testify to what they saw when the will was
   executed. That could have been avoided by
   writing the witness affidavits correctly. Thank
   God the witnesses are not dead and unavailable.

   It is also very important to make a legal PLAN
   about the estate details. The will is only the
   end result of good planning. So if you simply
   write a will from a form at Staples, you will
   not have the legal planning that goes behind it.

   For example, do you want a will or a trust? A
   trust is more expensive up front, but clearly
   LESS expense at death. A trust is not more
   expensive. It is only a question of WHEN you
   pay. You will save money with a trust in the
   long run, but people think it costs more, so they don’t really think things through. With 9 children, probate may be very complicated, but a trust simpler.

   However, a trust IS a little more work to
   administer. Therefore, it is not always worth
   the extra work, unless there is a lot of money
   involved. So it matters what your goals are.

   Jonathon Moseley
   Office of Jonathon Moseley
   1818 Library Street, Suite 500
   Reston, VA 20190

2. Re: Wills and Probate, Trust Funds, Living Wills
   I can help you with your questions and help you address the need for estate and possibly long term care planning. The answers to your questions are beyond the scope of the very limited space of this answer posting, but we can discuss these questions in an initial consultation, which I will do at no charge to you. The initial consultation can take from between one to two hours and you will leave the meeting knowing exactly what you need to do for your parents.

   I am in Old Town Manassas near the courthouse. Here is my e-mail address, please feel free to email me with your contact information or to request an appointment: tward@twardlaw.com

   Timothy Ward
   Timothy A. Ward, MBA, JD, PC
   9240A Mosby St.
   Manassas, VA 20110-5038

Comments are closed.