What's involved in writing your will?

[Phantom Warrior]

I'm joining the Army in June and I'm think I probably should have my will made out.  More because I'm actually going to have some assets, instead of being a broke college student, than because I think it's highly likely I'll die.  

So, what is required for a will to be legal?  I have no interest in spending money to have someone else (a lawyer) write it down for me.  I don't have too much to get rid of and I don't expect any bitter fights over my stuff.  Can I just write it down on a piece of paper and have it notarized?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Typhoon]

The specifics may vary with your state, but not drastically.  A good starting place for self-help legal forms and information is the Nolo Press - www.nolo.com.

[p35]

I think the JAG will do it free for service members, esp. those headed overseas.

Traditionally there are a lot of jokes among lawyers about how they make more from people who write their own wills that they do from those who pay to have it done, because eventually lawyers will have to sort out the mess in court. You're probably right, though, that that applies more to people who have a lot of stuff worth fighting over.

[crt360]

Being as I am not licensed in ND I can't give you any legal advice, but I will give you some simple advice based on my experience.

Be careful.  I do quite a bit of estate planning (which involves preparing lots of wills & trusts) and probate (where the will must be proven to the satisfaction of the court and survive potential contest by other parties).  I have seen plenty of DIY wills and all but maybe one had something wrong with them.  

I have had very smart, educated, high-level corporate business executive clients ask me to review wills that they prepared at home on their computer (they were paying me more than I would have charged to draw a will for them, so I didn't mind) only to be surprised when I told them that what their will said and what they wanted it to do were two different things.  I have handled estates before where the deceased left a will that was so bad that I had to contact all of the heirs and get them to agree to a non-probate settlement where the will is ignored and everyone agrees on what to do with the deceased's stuff.  

I recommend finding a lawyer that has handled estate planning for quite a few years.  For $100-$150 you can get a basic will.  Most good lawyers will recommend several additional documents wich will add another $150-$200 to your bill, but for basic estate planning you'll be set.  Find out whether the lawyers prepare (or at least examine) the documents.  Some of the "cheap and fast" places don't and a lot of mistakes slip out.

Another good reason to use a lawyer in preparing your documents is that he/she or the firm will likely be around to assist your family when things go wrong.  The few hundred spent on having a will prepared and establishing a relationship with a lawyer you and your family can trust is just a drop in the bucket considering the increased cost a small mistake could add to your probate, which currently runs a minimum of around $1500.

[Phantom Warrior]

I know, I know.  But all I will have is a bank account with my military pay in it, which I want to split between charity and my family, maybe with a few bequests for friends.  Besides a little list of things like, "My sword goes to my brother, my little brothers get my deer rifle, etc" I don't have anything else to dispose of.  I just can't stomach spending $100 for someone else to write that down.

How would I go about drawing up a will that does pass muster by myself?

[Leatherneck]

Second the motion to ask the service legal office to do it, Phantom. If you're under contract now, you might call up the legal eagles at Grand Forks and see if they would do it before you go on active duty.