My mom was diagnosed with Small-Cell Lung Cancer about a month ago. Her prognosis is not so good... her doctor is estimating one to two years with chemo. Last night, my mom and siblings got together to discuss her wishes, wills, money, etc. Unfortunately, there are still issues that were left unresolved. In fact, I feel like we left with more questions than answers. [more inside]
posted by Swede78 on Nov 30, 2009 - 20 answers

Received a bequest that apparently has strings attached. Is this possible, and if so, is it enforceable? [more inside]
posted by arnicae on Sep 3, 2009 - 11 answers

Looking for a good lawyer in Vancouver, BC, specializing in wills and estates, to revise our wills and give us more general legal advice about estate planning. How should we go about this, and what criteria should we use? (My wife and I are early 40s, two children under 10, middle class.)
posted by russilwvong on Aug 5, 2009 - 2 answers

What steps do I have to take to ensure I do not inherit anything from my family's estate, even if I'm included in the will? [more inside]
posted by medea42 on Jul 1, 2009 - 17 answers

Can you recommend a lawyer in the Seattle area to write my will? [more inside]
posted by The corpse in the library on Feb 5, 2009 - 5 answers

My father and mother recently named me as executor of their modest estates. However, as I have no experience with this, they believe it may be helpful for me to have a co-executor, and my father has set up a meeting with a lawyer in Boston. (My parents live in Virginia, and I live in New York). Can anyone offer insight into what questions I should ask the prospective co-executor, or what the possible pros and cons are for having a "professional" co-executor?
posted by anonymous on Oct 21, 2008 - 7 answers

Relative C receives power of attorney over Relative A. Relative C wants to change the will. Relative A, on her good days, agrees. Their lawyer won't let this happen, claiming conflict of interest. What to do? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 8, 2008 - 18 answers

Where does a will get executed if I die somewhere other than where the will was written? [more inside]
posted by GuyZero on Apr 14, 2008 - 4 answers

Inheritance question: what can you do when a parent backs away from a signed agreement to distribute funds? [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Dec 24, 2007 - 32 answers

Is helping family from New York prepare wills and trusts the "unauthorized practice of law" if I'm an attorney from a different state? [more inside]
posted by pikaboy202 on Dec 6, 2007 - 7 answers

What are some more great Johnny Gimble recordings? [more inside]
posted by sully75 on Nov 21, 2007 - 1 answer

If a person has a trust and then dies, does the executor HAVE to disperse the assets as instructed in the trust/will? What's to stop him from just keeping everything, or rearranging the distribution? I was recently left a piece of property, but I am worried the executor (my brother) will try to sell the property to pay the estate taxes rather than dipping in the brokerage account (which was left to him). Or would there be another, separate account dedicated to paying the estate taxes? My brother is not entirely honorable about these things, and the brokerage account far exceeds the value of the house. Does anyone know how much latitude he has?
posted by anonymous on Nov 6, 2007 - 11 answers

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)
posted by winston on Jun 9, 2007 - 1 answer

Leaving Money to Drug Addicts Filter: My parents have re-written their will, which leaves all of their assets equally to myself and my step-brother. Considering that my step-brother is a drug addict (we also believe that he is a dealer, though he has yet to be arrested as such, so we don't know for sure), this becomes very complicated. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Feb 6, 2007 - 35 answers

Anyone had a will prepared through www.legalzoom.com? Care to share how it went? Or have recommendations to another online "will mill", or strong arguments against using one? [more inside]
posted by de void on Oct 16, 2006 - 6 answers

British Inheritance Tax question: help me foil a dying man's wishes. [more inside]
posted by greytape on Sep 24, 2006 - 8 answers

What is a reasonable cost for the preparation of a will? [more inside]
posted by nanojath on Jun 27, 2006 - 15 answers

My elderly mother’s assets are nearly all tied up in her house. She needs cash now for expenses and she refuses to consider a reverse mortgage. One of my two siblings recommended establishing a life estate to protect mom’s home for her to live in, while one of us three buys the remainder estate to provide her the cash to live on. The remainder estate is valued at two thirds the appraised value of Mom’s house. Our mother’s will currently reads that her estate will be divided equally three ways on her death, and she is unlikely to change it. Is it possible that the sibling who buys the remainder estate could actually end up with much more of the total estate than the others by receiving a free-and-clear deed to the house upon our mother’s death while having actually paid only a fraction of its cost (the appraised value minus the value of Mother’s life estate and their own one third interest in the cash value left over from the remainder estate?)
posted by hdfische on May 1, 2006 - 3 answers

I'm 20. How do I go about preparing a legal will and ensuring it will be paid due attention if I should die? And who should I pick as my executor? I live in Maryland. [more inside]
posted by schroedinger on Apr 21, 2006 - 8 answers

Not only am I not a lawyer, I don't have one, either.

Do I need one for my wife and I to write a simple will, mostly to specify who should take care of our daughter in case of mutual demise? We live in Georgia, US.

Yes, I know... I should ask a lawyer...
posted by jpburns on Jan 9, 2004 - 18 answers