[cordenny]

My husband and I are discussing getting our estate in order. We each have children from a previous marriage. Any advice on the best course of action. Is it advisable to do-it-yourself will or hire an attorney?

[manaboutown]

Based upon what you have disclosed I urge you to find a good local attorney who specializes in estate planning for people in second marriages who have children from previous marriages - especially if you have significant assets and/or pensions.

[Bjeanj]

Kathryn Linn did our will and set up a trust for us. Yours sounds more complex than ours, but am sure she runs across it often.
Phone: (352) 633-1263

[Bryan]

Best advice - don't get advice on this forum, seek the advice of an attorney certified in Elder Affairs. Look in The Villages phone book - several list this certification (Elder Affairs Certified) in their listing in the phone book. You really need a pro to do this right.

[JoelJohnson]

I suggest you read the book "Beyond the Grave - The Right Way and Wrong Way to Leave Money to Your Children (and others)" by Jeffrey L. Condon, Esq.

He goes through the process of writing trusts. There are a lot trip wires in writing a trust, he shares some of the horror stories he has seen in his 40+ years. You might not need to worry about the things he brings up in his book, but if you do, you'll be glad you read it.

[lorilorilori]

Find a really good attorney. The first attorney I went to had me put my house in trust - and Lake Co refused the paperwork saying it was incorrect. The attny refused to re-do it. Then went to an attny in Orlando who re-did the paperwork and Lake County accepted it. So, I was only out a few hundred but the point is - start with the best. Get good referrals.

[JoelJohnson]

Another good book is "Living Trusts for Everyone" by Ronald Farrington Sharpe.

If you don't know how they work, how can you trust anyone to do right by you? Doing it wrong will cost you money now and your heirs later.

As you might know, wills become public once you die and probate is VERY expensive (and no, you can not avoid probate for anything that is not in a trust or "Joint Tenancy"). With the right instructions your heirs will not need a lawyer to execute your trust.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK! A trust is not an one hour job and done. Having a poor trust is worse than not having a trust at all.

I am not a lawyer, CPA or anything like that. But we were burned by a bad trust (not ours, someone else's), and we could nothing about it. Getting a lawyer to fight a trust is worthless, a trust, no matter how poorly written is a legal document and very difficult to fight after the death of the person that drew it up.

Spend time to get it right the first time.

[Chatbrat]

we changed our trust this year, while a serving spouse is alive, the key is to avoid probate, then later on, estate taxes and final burial arrangements-if your estate is less than $3million and you're retired military you can use any JAG office Patrick or McDill--we were told this back in 2003-the $ threshold may have changed

We use McLin & Burnsed- and we used Fred Golar from their office

[shaboobie]

Call Andrew Curtis. 352-315-0333. Has done over 10,000 wills and trusts. Great Attorney

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by cordenny

My husband and I are discussing getting our estate in order. We each have children from a previous marriage. Any advice on the best course of action. Is it advisable to do-it-yourself will or hire an attorney?

We obviously can't answer this for you as we do not know your family. or the value of your estate.

BUT-based on experience both good and bad.
I would list everything you have of value-perhaps put them on index cards and you and your husband decide who gets what. Your home in the villages-do you want who to get it. Sold and the value divided OR?

When my parents passed their will said who gets what.
Unfortunately at the time, my sister and I had a major dispute about an issue not related to my parents estate. We both had decided not to allow this to get to be a war and so it was not. Too often there are fights over who gets a painting, jewelry, the car etc etc

Be sure you know the charge from the atty. As I had shared, there were issues between my sister and myself.
I had located an atty who would do it for a FLAT RATE.
My brother in law SADLY, the more I look the more of a dirt bag he is. My sister wanted the atty my brother in law recommended. They/we signed a contract for so much per hour-and he really padded the bill. We had to ask for an itemized bill. He charged us for such things as an hour meeting with his assistant to insturct him what to do.
He then billed us, if I recall $200 an hour for his assistants time. So that is $500 an hor while he told his assist how to do the job. A quick check on the internet and his assistant was a first year law student at the local college.

In the end his bill was three times what the flat rate was.
I threatened to report him to the bar association and he cut the bill almost in half. FOR WE MORTALS THAT IS GRAND THEFT.
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I would use a law firm. A single atty might move; join another practice or????? If, there are any issues, after your passing you want your heirs to have a firm to go back to.

FOR US, my parents hired a single atty. We had a photocopy of our parents will. We were told we needed the one with the blue cover-huh? After much trouble, as the office had closed, I found the atty who GOT PAID to draft my parents will-she no longer had the files. After additional atty bills we ?????? got one prepared with a blue cover and my sister and I signed off on it.
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There are other related things such as Medical Proxy, if you have a brokerage acct, the instructions on that acct that you filed will be followed not your will.
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Pre-planned funeral? Are you to be buried with your first husband or your second or?

GOOD LUCK

[champion6]

We were very pleased with the advice and work done for us by Susan Sullivan, 4129 Co Rd 106, Oxford. (352) 694-1559. We highly recommend her.

[JoelJohnson]

In our case, the persons estate was charged almost $20,000 on an estate of far less than $1,000,000 because the executor didn't know what to do, or was just incompetent. Most of that could have been avoided because it was mostly clerical.

If the trust is set up properly, all you really need is a good set of instructions. Things like "go see this person to sign the papers", "go to this bank to get the money", "find the papers you need here" etc.

I'll keep saying it ... EDUCATE YOURSELF!!!! This is too important! You spend a lot of time buying a house or a car or plan a vacation, don't you think that something that will affect your heirs for the rest of their lives deserves a LOT of time?

[rjm1cc]

Since second marriage and assuming you each want your assets to go to your children and also provide support for the other spouse you need a trust. HOWEVER you also need a will, and a power of attorney and a health directive. Use an estate planning attorney. Not an attorney that gave you a free dinner. This is differently not a due it your self and some items should have been done before you got married so you added some difficulty to the process.

[Aw Man]

Originally Posted by cordenny

My husband and I are discussing getting our estate in order. We each have children from a previous marriage. Any advice on the best course of action. Is it advisable to do-it-yourself will or hire an attorney?

I suggest you work with an attorney.
I can highly recommend The Pittman Law Office (Amy Pittman),
352-399-6944.