With our children grown, families of their own, you'd think we would have updated our will since they were younger right...wrong. So now is the time to get our ducks in a row!
We have used the same attorney for many years to handle real estate settlements. Previously we discussed with him obtaining a will. Well...I'm sure he would do a tremendous job in the preparation of our Will and charge five hundred dollars, if not more for this great honor.
Several Will Maker computer packages from your local Staples store, Office Depot, or applications online are available for purchase. We opted to use the same form I had used several years ago for someone else and thus began the process of preparing a Will for Wayne and myself. Seems an easy task to undertake, but there really is so much to think about when you are the one deciding how your estate should be handled, and will be relying on a chosen individual to carry out the task. After researching current Will and Estate laws in Virginia on the internet, our decisions were somewhat clear.
One great suggestion is to keep things simple. You really can get too wordy and in doing so, open a whole new can of worms. Be precise and accurate with your bequeaths and inheritances. If there is something special you want to say to someone, write them a personal note.
In addition to the will itself, we prepared a form which detailed all of our current financial information, with account numbers, contact numbers, loan amounts, payoffs, insurance company accounts with numbers and contacts...well you get the idea. My suggestion is to make a separate list for: banks, insurance companies, personal accounts, household accounts, etc. This enables the Executor of your Will to have all the current information available.
Once the Will was completed, Wayne and I went to our bank where the Will was witnessed by two individuals and also stamped and sealed by the Bank Notary.
Now I certainly plan on Wayne and I returning home and if the Good Lord deems it so, live on to see our beautiful Grandchildren grow to become adults. But just in case...
