How do you make an affordable living will?
Do I have to go thru an attorney? For those of you who have one how did you
get it done? I have to have one done. Having Crohn's and many medical
procedures and medication you never know. I don't want my kids or my husband
or parents to decide for me.
- Washington
State for one does not recognize holographic (i.e., handwritten)
wills. In addition, wills must be properly executed. In Washington,
that means signed before two witnesses; the signatures of the
witnesses (but not the will signer) are notarized at the same time.
This is called "proofing" the will. The statements signed by the
witnesses state that at the time they witnessed the signing the
testator/trix was of sound mind and not coerced, etc. Without this
"proofing" the witnesses would have to be located at a later date when
the testator/trix dies and would have to execute statements to that
effect. Sometimes the witnesses die first.
And in addition to a Will (for your estate and heirs), and a Medical
Directive, everyone sould have a Durable Power of Attorney as well
-Some states have specific requirements. I don't know what state you
are in. google living will (or medical directive) and your state.
Ask your doctor also. If you have a business in your area that
provides notary forms and services, they often have the most current
forms for your area. Check yellow pages under "Notaries."
Mine was a form provided through our state bar association. I did
have a lawyer (one of my former employers) look it over to be sure I
was using the most current form.
It is really important that it be properly filled out and executed.
Sometimes it needs to be typed. Holographic (handwritten) documents
aren't valid in every state. You usually need to have your signature
witnessed by at least two people who also sign it, and some states
require that it be notarized. It's not valid if not properly done.
You should be able to find a lawyer to do one up for you for $25 or
so. When we did wills for a couple, we would do a community
property agreement, durable powers of attorney and medical directives
for about a total of $10 above the cost of the wills. (2 simple wills
were about $100, trust wills were more complex and ran more like
$200.)