Do you have a will?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

You should.

You should have already had one, long before this corona virus.

Especially those of you who are convinced you will probably die. I really do hope you won't, but you should still have a will.

And if you say, "What do I care? I won't be here?" I wish terrible things upon you. Mainly that you have to handle someone's estate after they die. Even if there are no complications, it will take longer than you anticipate. It is not fun. Trust me.

Make your will.

I have a friend I've been hounding for years to do this. He keeps on putting it off. I happen to know how he would actually like his minimal estate distributed, and it's not to anyone that it would go to if he dies intestate. I keep on telling him that if anything happens to him I'll go to his brother and sister and say, "He promised everything to me!" They'd probably believe me. But I don't want anything of his. I want it to go where he wants it to go and so he needs a will.
So do you. And yes, you in the back there.

Chances are you won't really die from this virus, but you should still have a will. And if, heaven forfend, you really do die from it, you and your heirs will be really happy you made the will.

A public service announcement, brought to you because a couple of years ago someone close to me died, and I'm really glad he had a will.

[intrepidity]

1. How did you see me back here?

I thought I was hiding pretty well.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. Ohhh, I have x-ray vision.

You cannot hide from me!

[intrepidity]

3. Well, continue to use your superpower for good

Thanks for pricking my conscience

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I will try to do so.

[riverbendviewgal]

5. A will gives you piece of mind

Remember you can add, change or delete things in it.

We are all mortal. Once you make one you feel a bit lighter.

I am also reducing my possessions and giving things away.

[BigmanPigman]

6. Yep, I went all out and got a super secure trust

about 3 years ago after I came back from the hospital with a proper diagnosis. I made sure to be buried with my dogs' ashes and drew a map (detailed) so we all end up in the same spot. I don't mind dying but I do mind being sick though. I HATE being sick. I hope I live long enough to see the country and world begin to heal without tRump. Is that asking too much?

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Laws vary a lot, state to state

A few states still have estate tax, where the state and its attorneys (are they in it for the state, or for themselves?) shake down your estate for all it can take them for, legally. Confiscatory actions of the state if there ever were any. What was yours is now partially theirs. Hope I got your attention.

If you die without a will, intestate - not explained for the novice in the OP - the laws of the state will decide how to divvy up the detritus of your life. But they mainly want to see the money so they can take some. Anyone ever related to you might come forward, and the state will apply its filters. Doing all this in court generates nice fat legal fees. The system will feed off you.

As a quickie helper, this weekend, like now, if you refuse or don't want to go out in public to make a will, I've heard there are kits online, but sometimes getting them accepted as a genuine will has hurdles, like independent, unrelated witnesses, and a notary, or more hurdles.

If you have financial assets - bank, IRA, things like that - you could name beneficiaries. At least in my state those pass outside the estate to the beneficiaries you name, so you do have a lot of control. But hard assets - house, possessions, car - those are different.

AARP site undoubtedly does have articles on estate planning, as do major mutual fund companies, some of whom manage trusts pretty seamlessly with the legal world, if you are fortunate enough to need and want a trust.

I'd bet most Democrats know less about estate planning than your average Republican multimillionaire who's spent most of his or her life drinking mint julep beneath a bougainvillea while planning how to get some tax cuts and eliminate estate taxes.

[livetohike]

8. Thanks for this post. I am still working on settling

my Mom’s estate (here in PA). No one knows what it’s like until you actually have to deal with it. We finally convinced her to sign a will etc and then she died six weeks later in Aug 2018.

Everyone wants a piece of it here. PA has an inheritance tax. My Mom didn’t have much. Dad was a steelworker and he passed in 2004. She was a stay at home Mom. The lawyer took her considerable cut. We did some upgrades on the house and then the fees to sell it (not to mention upgrades the borough required, permits, etc).

We closed on the house on Jan 15 and I have to file estate taxes (Federal and PA). The earliest they can be filed is Nov 2020. I just want this to end.

It would have been such a pain to do this without having that will naming me the Executrix.

[bucolic_frolic]

10. Yes, I sympathize with your post

I too in PA. I would advise anyone in their 70s to begin to financially hollow out their assets with gifts to trusted strong hands loved ones, or by loading with debt or spending, BEFORE the attorney start their Medicaid Counted Asset victory dance. It was all about fitting into that construct, no one paid any attention when they just wanted to gift the house outright. I do think the state and attorneys get a cut of the taxes. It is like living in a vise.

The second best advice is to leave PA. Just moving out of state stops the problem. This is fascism and pressure to settle and pay up quickly when all you want to do is rest, recover, grieve. Pure torture that damages your life permanently, irrevocably.

Or maintain a residence out of state, even if an apartment that you can occupy quickly. Once you have a certificate of moving from your township and surrender your driver's license, you are no longer a state of PA resident, and THAT is PARADISE!

And yes in the case you mention, without a will, it all gets dumped into the court, with hundreds of dollars upfront to do that, plus attorney fees if you use one, plus it is SLOW. In rare cases, dying with assets and no relatives and no executor/trix named, attorneys file in the courts, with all those clocks ticking at $350 an hour. Occasionally in the US there have been cases where the lawyers are crooked and walk off with assets in such cases!

[livetohike]

15. All great info! We moved back home from CA to take care

of our elderly Mothers. Going to move out of state once our obligations are over. Not sure where though. My mother in law is 93.5 years old. My husband is her Executor.

My sister is our Executrix. She isn’t looking forward to it. At least our paperwork is in order and we will go to a place where there isn’t inheritance tax.

[bucolic_frolic]

16. Of course it must be said, retirement income (pensions, etc.) is tax free in PA

as is payments to an insurance beneficiary. So retirees aren't taxed in retirement for the most part, but they make it up
when deceased.

The insurance lobby has been active. Somebody far too late told me about a hybrid irrevocable trust policy to park assets that can only be tapped for health care costs. Then the beneficiaries inherit tax free. But little people without inside expertise pay the going rate.

Sorry for the rant. None of this is investment advice of course, just my regrets, and hope it helps someone to understand the system and save some money.

[pat_k]

9. Clarity is vital.

Make a will.

If things are not crystal clear, relatives you would never expect to be on conflict can become adversaries.

It's terrible, but I've watched even the closest siblings in conflict over things I would have never believed could possibly be an issue.

Even if you have nothing but your own ashes to deal with, make a will. Be clear about everything.

And if you want to hear how things can fall come apart when things are not clear on such basics, send DU mail pat_k

[Mars and Minerva]

13. And don't forget to assign your on line content.

Writings, photos etc.

[pat_k]

14. Absolutely

People don't think about this.

These days, even if you don't think your online "footprint" has value, take time to consider.

You may want to provide permissions and passwords granting control. Or you may want to simply provide instructions on how you want to say "goodbye" to the communities you participate in. Providing these sorts of instructions can make it easier for your loved ones.

The "real world" people are front and center. Without instruction for notification, your online people may have no idea what happened.

It took me more than a year after the death of the love of my life to inform the people here I knew cared about him https://www.democraticunderground.com/1002750566

[Mars and Minerva]

11. If you don't have anything too complicated, you can log on to a site like Legal Zoom.

It's really easy and easy to update as well.

[central scrutinizer]

12. If you don't have a will

Lawyers will be your heirs.

[OneGrassRoot]

17. What is the least expensive way to do it?

I jointly own a home with my partner and want to be sure my daughter takes over this ownership. That’s the most complicated thing for me. I have a life insurance policy for her and basically no other assets.

I can’t afford a few hundred dollars and I found Rocket Lawyers’ DIY form complicated.

😟

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

18. Least expensive way will depend on where you live and

just what you own.

How your home is titled will be the way she gets your share when you go. Look at the paperwork for the house.

This is researchable. You can start by checking in with Legal Aid, although I don't know if they handle will type stuff, or have a librarian at your local library help you out.

And you'd be surprised and perhaps horrified at how complicated it can get, even when there are essentially no assets.