Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Virginia

Re: Wills and Probate, Trust Funds, Living Wills

I try to give meaningful answers on this bulletin

board, and not simply use it as an advertising tactic to get people to hire a lawyer.

However, honestly, I cannot reccommend that one

write such a will on their own without a lawyer.

There are lawyers, like myself, who will do a

will for as little as $350 to $550. The costs of

a will gone bad when your parents pass on can

be 20 to 40 times as much in legal bills. So it

really is a false economy to do it yourself.

There are standard will forms available for

purchase on the internet and in bookstores

(office supply stores), that will approximate a

complete will. I can't simply give you the

topics to include. Much of the wording is very

important as well. Even if the words don't have

to be exactly one way or another, the ideas must

be written in legally-binding language and avoid

certain common problems. So I could not give you

the topics without the actual wording of at least

one good example of a will to copy from. Also, not all sample wills are equally good. An attorney will use a model that has been time-tested in Virginia's courts, refined from actual experiences in court challenges. Forms you buy in the store are probably generic nationwide and have not been road-tested in Virginia's courts.

However, the words in a will are NOT the only

thing that matters. It is very important that

the will be "executed" signed properly. There

are very precise rules about the witnesses, and

how they must sign, and when, and whether they

are all together in one place, and whether they

know what they are signing, etc.

I have a client whose mother's will CANNOT be

admitted to probate in Virginia, because the

"self-proving affidavit" of the witnesss does

NOT say that the mother was of sound mind at the

time that she signed the will. So, my client is

looking at flying the witnesses up from Florida

to testify to what they saw when the will was

executed. That could have been avoided by

writing the witness affidavits correctly. Thank

God the witnesses are not dead and unavailable.

It is also very important to make a legal PLAN

about the estate details. The will is only the

end result of good planning. So if you simply

write a will from a form at Staples, you will

not have the legal planning that goes behind it.

For example, do you want a will or a trust? A

trust is more expensive up front, but clearly

LESS expense at death. A trust is not more

expensive. It is only a question of WHEN you

pay. You will save money with a trust in the

long run, but people think it costs more, so they don't really think things through. With 9 children, probate may be very complicated, but a trust simpler.

However, a trust IS a little more work to

administer. Therefore, it is not always worth

the extra work, unless there is a lot of money

involved. So it matters what your goals are.

Re: Wills and Probate, Trust Funds, Living Wills

I can help you with your questions and help you address the need for estate and possibly long term care planning. The answers to your questions are beyond the scope of the very limited space of this answer posting, but we can discuss these questions in an initial consultation, which I will do at no charge to you. The initial consultation can take from between one to two hours and you will leave the meeting knowing exactly what you need to do for your parents.

I am in Old Town Manassas near the courthouse. Here is my e-mail address, please feel free to email me with your contact information or to request an appointment: [email protected]