Is there a lawyer in the house?

[A.Nonymous]

Yes, I'm asking for free legal advice from strangers on the Interwebs. I realize any advice I get is probably worth what I pay for it and that receiving said advice does not constitute an attorney/client relationship, blah, blah, blah, disclaim everything.

That being said, someone I know died recently without a will. It has inspired me to actually get one in place for myself. The will is cheap enough and easy to find at a number of reputable sites. I'm looking for some sort of legal entity to manage my money after I die. I have no kids, but I want to leave some money to take care of my three nieces. All of them are under the age of 5 right now. I want to have my money invested according to guidelines I set (no giving money to the Nigerian prince). When the girls turn 16, I want to leave them $x for the purpose of buying a first car. I want to keep the rest of the money in store until they're 30 'cuz I figure by then they have gotten past the wild, stupid stuff we all do as kids. I want to have some of this money set aside for college as well. Any ideas what kind of document I need to make this happen? Just a regular will? A living trust? Something else?

 

[Bob Maxey]

Yes, I'm asking for free legal advice from strangers on the Interwebs. I realize any advice I get is probably worth what I pay for it and that receiving said advice does not constitute an attorney/client relationship, blah, blah, blah, disclaim everything.

Seek local council with experience in estate planning as well as knowledge of your state laws. This is too important to screw up.

Or ask Wikipedia, they know everything it seems.

Seriously, local lawyers with experience is your best bet.

And understand that on the web, every person seems to be an unqualified expert and many times, facts show they are Googleawyers answering questions from Google searches.

I once met an IP expert that suggested to her clients that if you mail something to yourself, a legal form of copyright protection is granted, called "A Poor Man's Copyright."

And this was from a well known lawyer often praised for her great and good legal advice with respect to IP, in various writer's groups. She also advised to call agents and editors at lunch because they are usually relaxes and not busy. Bad advice all around and it clearly tells those of us that know, she is to be avoided like the iOS.

Do your due diligence and seek references. Not all local lawyers are knowledgeable, either. Find an estate lawyer and check their references. What you want to do is likely not unique and should be easy to do with the right lawyer.

Finally, ASK QUESTIONS. Remember, it is easy to assume something that ends up screwing you and your kin. Make sure you understand what your lawyer is saying and do not assume that what you think you hear is really what was said. Or some such.

 

[RiverOfIce]

Google " local legal aid group" and your location. It will give you low cost or free legal aid for drafting up wills and legal documents. Most of the time, they are 100% free, done by college students.

You will need to see local legal aid, because of the local laws.

 

[lunatic59]

Here is my legal advice. Find yourself a good estate attorney you trust.

What you are asking is to establish a trust after you croak, and you should name a trustee OTHER than a corporation or a lawyer. I have been executor of several estates (and no, i will not volunteer to be yours) and having a good estate attorney was invaluable.

I highly recommend this guy.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

I'm in law school, so I know that giving legal advice when you're not a lawyer is illegal.

 

[Bomfy]

Local counsel is your best bet. This may sound utterly ridiculous, but I had a buddy that needed a lawyer recently and they only knew people that had either divorce or defense and not what they needed, so they hit Yelp. They then took a few they liked the looks of and did some more research on them. They couldn't have been happier with the guy they went with.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I'm in law school, so I know that giving legal advice when you're not a lawyer is illegal.

No it's not. Guy hit my friend's car. The other guy had no insurance. I told my friend he needed to take him to small claim's court. I offered legal advice. No one is going to take me to jail for that.

 

[lunatic59]

I'm in law school, so I know that giving legal advice when you're not a lawyer is illegal.

If you can cite statute, that would be very helpful, otherwise I think you might want to stay in law school a little longer. While offering legal counsel as an attorney when you have not been licensed is illegal, one layman offering another legal advice certainly isn't. As a matter of fact, in many jurisdictions the lower courts permit laymen to represent themselves as their own legal counsel.

Granted, making decisions based solely on a layman's legal advice may not be the brightest move, but certainly no crime has been committed.

 

[shyster]

Yes, I'm asking for free legal advice from strangers on the Interwebs. I realize any advice I get is probably worth what I pay for it and that receiving said advice does not constitute an attorney/client relationship, blah, blah, blah, disclaim everything.

That being said, someone I know died recently without a will. It has inspired me to actually get one in place for myself. The will is cheap enough and easy to find at a number of reputable sites. I'm looking for some sort of legal entity to manage my money after I die. I have no kids, but I want to leave some money to take care of my three nieces. All of them are under the age of 5 right now. I want to have my money invested according to guidelines I set (no giving money to the Nigerian prince). When the girls turn 16, I want to leave them $x for the purpose of buying a first car. I want to keep the rest of the money in store until they're 30 'cuz I figure by then they have gotten past the wild, stupid stuff we all do as kids. I want to have some of this money set aside for college as well. Any ideas what kind of document I need to make this happen? Just a regular will? A living trust? Something else?

You should contact a local attorney about setting up a living trust. Cost will vary depending on the complexity but expect to pay $1,500+ The trust would own all of your assets and you would appoint a Trust Administrator to administer it upon your death.

 

[A.Nonymous]

You should contact a local attorney about setting up a living trust. Cost will vary depending on the complexity but expect to pay $1,500+ The trust would own all of your assets and you would appoint a Trust Administrator to administer it upon your death.

That doesn't make me happy 'cuz I can get a Living Trust document online from a couple of reputable places for like $20-30.

 

[lunatic59]

That doesn't make me happy 'cuz I can get a Living Trust document online from a couple of reputable places for like $20-30.

I guess it depends on how complicated the trust would be and how contentious your family is. Even the weakest legal document will be enforced if not challenged (unless it's totally bogus or its execution would be illegal). It would also depend on what your estate was worth. If it will only be a couple of grand, then it doesn't really matter, however if it's significant ... as in 7 figures, then it's a smalls investment for your beneficiaries security.

You could always try the best of both worlds. Get the online form and run it by a good estate attorney to either verify or modify the document. You could get off significantly cheaper than $1500 if not much needs to be done to it, or it could cost you a lot more to modify than to write a better one. It really depends on the local statutes, how complicated the estate will be to process and how exactly you want the trust to function.

Besides, when the document is executed, it won't matter much to you anymore.

 

[A.Nonymous]

Sadly I don't have a 7 figure estate although if anyone wants to donate to the cause........................

I may do some research over the holiday weekend and at least write down exactly what I want to do. Maybe I can call an estate lawyer, buy an hour of their time and get this done. I can't really justify spending $1,500 on an estate that's not worth much of anything at the moment.

 

[Potvin63]

Attorneys in many fields will offer a free consultation so that is one route to take if you want to lay out what you explained in your initial post in terms of how to structure the trust, who would administer the trust, etc.

Also bear in mind if you do consult with a local attorney whose area of expertise is wills, trusts and estates generally the longer the attorney has been practicing the more expensive an hour of their time might be. Typical for a will or trust some attorneys can charge a flat fee for the service. That's how uncomplicated bankruptcies set fees.

Do you mind if I ask what state you are located in? I am a licensed attorney (in New Jersey) and went to law school with some friends who handle some wills, trusts and estate matters.

My last tip (which seems obvious) is if you take the concrete step of meeting with an attorney, go into meeting with a set list of questions you have and also the things the trust MUST include vs. what you like but is not essential as the more complicated the more expensive it may be if an attorney does it.

Best of luck and I think it's a very good idea to do this now.

 

[A.Nonymous]

I'm in the state of KS.

I just found out that a client I deal with on a regular basis specializes in estate planning. I think I am going to sit down over the three day weekend and write up a list of things I want to leave to which people, things I want to do etc.......

I'm always disturbed when people die and leave their affairs in a clunky, cludgy mess. Your heirs are already distraught (hopefully) that you've died. Why make it harder for them? I guess if they're thrilled that you've kicked the bucket and are dancing in the streets then you should make it difficult for them to get your money.

 

[gvillager]

I'm in the state of KS.

I just found out that a client I deal with on a regular basis specializes in estate planning. I think I am going to sit down over the three day weekend and write up a list of things I want to leave to which people, things I want to do etc.......

I'm always disturbed when people die and leave their affairs in a clunky, cludgy mess. Your heirs are already distraught (hopefully) that you've died. Why make it harder for them? I guess if they're thrilled that you've kicked the bucket and are dancing in the streets then you should make it difficult for them to get your money.

Your post makes me want to watch The Ultimate Gift - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

 

[Bob Maxey]

I'm in law school, so I know that giving legal advice when you're not a lawyer is illegal.

Really? Seems odd. I think I'll require some proof. Unless you mean setting up shop to sell advice to hapless wanderers. That might be illegal.

I just gave legal advice and so, Bar Associations; Unite, Lock, and Load.

 

[Bob Maxey]

Sadly I don't have a 7 figure estate although if anyone wants to donate to the cause........................

I recently found a box of Utah Tax Commission Plastic Mill Tokens. Will one of those help?