Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with estateplanning

How to make a will better?

madajb — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:55:04 -0800

Got any tips for creating a will for new parents? We plan to get a lawyer, this is so we are more prepared when we speak with them. If anyone know a good lawyer in or around Eugene, OR, that'd be handy too.

As the parents of a new child, we've suddenly become aware that a will would likely be a good idea.
One child, fairly standard estate.
We'll likely set up a guardianship for the child with financial oversight separate.

Looking for things that you may have found useful in setting up your own will or executing someone else's.
Sort of those little things that make a big difference.
Things you may appreciated when you were the beneficiary of a will or specific items to include or exclude.

Is NPR practicing moral hazard or am I freerider?

clearlynuts — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:13:50 -0800

How much money does my local NPR station need to stop all the fundraising drives? I'd contribute to NPR, but I'd be ticked off that I still had to listen to their fundraising drives. I know, I know. The contribution is to support the content itself. But let's say that I wanted to figure out how much money to donate to my local NPR station so that they'd never have to run a fundraiser ever again.

How much money does my local station raise in a year? How much money does my local station need on hand? If I left them enough money so that they didn't need to do fundraisers, would they stop doing them altogether? Or are NPR listeners doomed to listen to donation solicitation no matter what?

Where there's a will, there's an estate lawyer (Toronto recomendations sought)

winston — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 15:35:34 -0800

Estate-lawyer-in-Toronto-filter. We need to make wills. We're just a couple with kids -- not much of an estate nor any complicated plans. (And we're apparently not any good at following through on the plan to write them up ourselves :-) Any lawyer recommendations? We're in South Riverdale if it makes any difference. (Feel free to plug yourself if you are one)

How to keep inheritance fair?

tristeza — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:02:46 -0800

Please help me make a proposal to my family about the fate of my parents’ home that is equitable and reasonable and doesn’t make me seem like a greedy jerkface. My parents own a (kind of junky) condo in a very expensive town. They paid an incredibly low price for it, let’s say $150,000. Its market value right now, with no improvements, is about $300,000. With improvements it could sell for maybe $400,000.

This condo is the only asset my parents have, and makes up the entirety of their “estate.” No one wants it to leave the family in the foreseeable future.

My folks are moving to Florida and are considering selling the condo to my brother (who would live there) for something less than market value, and using that money to buy a place in FL. I cannot afford to “go in” with my brother to purchase it with him. It would be 100% his.

My interpretation of this is that if this happens, I am out any inheritance I might have had, and any possible profit I could have made on the place if my brother and I were co-owners and sold it at some point.

So, my question is this: what sort of compromise could I propose to my family? How could there be a share between the 3 parties that gives my parents some $ to move, gives my brother a place to live and some equity, keeps the home in the family, and doesn’t leave me totally out in the cold? Is this impossible?

Thanks, all.

Keep saving for that plasma screen or prepare to die?

nanojath — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:01:15 -0800

What is a reasonable cost for the preparation of a will? I know there is a lot of web-based information on the subject, and I'm looking at it, but I'm hoping for some firsthand advice from people who shopped around and particularly that perhaps a couple of lawyers with relevant experience might weigh in.

30's, married with one child: we need to get our wills in place now. The situation is a house (owned 4 years, worth maybe 15% over principle), 2 retirement accounts worth combined less than $100,000, two insurance policies totalling less than $500,000, minor assets otherwise.

I got a recommendation of a 2 person firm from a financial advisor who I trust (and from whom I've gotten a lot of good advice that has consistently been to my benefit). I discussed our situation with one of the partners and it all sounded good but the quote for 2 wills with no estate tax issues gave me sticker shock - $800 (this was a flat fee).

I'm totally naive about legal work; I've never had to hire a lawyer before. I'm really not interested in a DIY solution. I'm willing and able to make this kind of investment. My needs are that our wills be thorough, to the extent possible eliminate unecessary work/decisions/anxiety for survivors, and obviously that it be legally impeccable. I'm confident I'll get these things with this attorney but I'm wondering how much I could save by shopping around. Are there benefits to consider that might come with higher cost service? Our situation is likely to change fairly slowly and incrementally (and very likely no more kids) - how many years can I expect to get out of a will without needing some legal retuning?