Financial Question of the Day:Is it Really Necessary to Have a Will?

Day 290 of my Financial Freedom Countdown

I say if you are married, have children, own a home, and have any assets at all, you need a will. Many people don't have a will because they have questions like "What is a Will?" or "What is a Living Trust?" for that matter. 39.5 percent of people say they do not have a will because they don't have time to make one. Another 26.2 percent of people say they do not have a will because of the costs. The bottom line shows that 74 percent of Americans with children do not have a will. That is just sad.

Not only is that sad, but really it is stupid too. If you don't have the time, make the time. if you don't have the money, find the money. You should have a will even if you don't have many assets. If you have children and don't want the state to decide who will raise them if you die, you need a will. If you truly love your family, you need a will to that lays out step by step what to do should anything happen to you.

In order to get a will, you need to find an estate attorney. My wife and I have a trust. So, if anything happens to one of us, everything gets turned over to the trust. Now, if you only want to start your estate planning with a will, which I strongly suggest you at least have that, you and your spouse should get a "mirror image" will. In case one of you die, the surviving spouse will get everything, which is where the term "mirror image" comes from.

If the expense of an attorney is your main concern, you can try and do the will yourself. Suze Orman offers a Protection Portfolio for $59.16 (Odd Pricing), but you can prepare a will yourself. I would still have an attorney look it over, which I believe Suze recommends the same, but as I did in my case, I would still recommend having an attorney prepare the entire will. You should be able to get a "mirror image" will for you and your spouse for around $300. It is well the worth the money to make sure that your will is done correctly.

If you are in debt, it might be bad enough that your family my have to deal with the debt, but imagine the added stress of not having a will and your family not knowing your last wishes or having to deal with the state and probate. Not to mention those added costs. If you don't have a will get one. Your family is depending on you.

photos via (bobbrownlaw & mysentimentexactlee)

[This post is written and copyrighted by Financial Elite (http://financialelite.blogspot.com/ ).]

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