If only there was a profession of informed and experienced people that spend years going to school learning the nuances of property that would then let you rent some of that knowledge for a small fee. Hmm. Sounds crazy. I mean - they'd probably have to be tested, licensed, pay monthly fees to have their advice insured... Probably just a pipe dream!

If only lawyers could answer if it is worth spending money on a lawyer is what you are implying dz.

A good point is raised current laws protect most assests unless you own quite a bit. A simple will would be enough. Since op wanted to potentially do it themselves I think they use that time to research current probate law and decide the best course of action.

I am not asking anyone who doesn't want to to impart their valuable wisdom or anyone to decide for me. I understand how to google, how to hire a professional, and do other types of research which for most people probably begins with taking to others about the subject. This thread is in that last category. I appreciate any input, but really, if you already posited that hiring a lawyer is the best course of action, with no added insight to offer on what to look for or look out for in that endeavor, and your only future contribution is to say that again as sarcasticly as possible, consider the ruling to be asked and answered as far as your personal testimony is concerned.

I will ultimately take responsibility for my own decision. This thread has served a purpose as it drove me to look up the difference between a trust and will-a will looking more in line with what I need on first pass-and I will now do further research. Thanks for that.

As much as a lawyer may be an expert, I don't have an inherent trust that any random who passed the bar will stop me from paying them for a service I don't need.

Benefits of a trust over probate vary by state. In some states, probate is easy. In others, it is a time consuming, expensive mess.

One plans for loved ones' benefit. Sure you can go without planning. Without a LW&T even. If you die, I'm sure your wife gets everything without one. if you both die, your kids get everything. But who looks after kids? If you die, your wife has to go thru a lot of paperwork and costs.

Probate can be costly and time consuming. Assets get caught up in probate. With a trust, things effectively run as if nothing happened. Your wife becomes trustee of the trust ( or she is already a co-trustee and becomes sole trustee). The fees of probate almost always are going to be more than $2k.

In addition your attorney will be preparing docs for if you are alive and unable to make decisions - medical or financial.

It's a no brained slam-dunk wise thing to do. For your family. I'd go so far as to say it's irresponsible and selfish not to plan.

Right Johnny, not all lawyers are created equal. Most will meet with you for a free consultation. Seems like you might have done this already. The more you get into it the more you will see and understand all the contingencies involved. The what ifs. Lots of combos -lol. It's nerve racking when you first start. Just remember you aren't locked into decisions. If you make a good friend a successor trustee (if you both die) and next year things change, you simply revise the docs. Make someone else the successor.

Theres some unbelievably terrible and stupid posts itt. You dont need a ****ing trust to avoid probabte. 99% of people just need to make sure there are TOD beneficiaries on their accounts and theyll all pass directly without probate. Trusts should be created for specific reasons. "Im going to die someday" is not one of them.

Trusts are created for a variety of reasons. Very true.

Dying might not be the only reason, but it's certainly one them.

A good rule of thumb is that when strangers start making grave pronouncements about what you need to do "for your family," you ought to hold on to your wallet. There certainly are financial planning steps you need to take for your family (write a will, buy term life insurance to replace your income if you die), but there's also a whole class of salespeople who pretend to be advisers and tell you what to do to protect your family to help them drum up business. It's an effective sales tactic, because how can you compare the value of peace of mind to a measly few thousand dollars. It's for the children! Insurance salesman and "financial advisers" are the classic culprits, but apparently T&E lawyers are willing to go pretty hard at it too. These people don't care about your family, they want to get paid. I'm sure a lot of them are fine people and will try to do a good job for you once you pay them, but they're going to try to sell you on buying a lot of services from them whether it's a good value for you or not.

Quick observation before my real post. I'm executor of my Dad's estate and my Mom's condo is in his name. Since he's died I've been bombarded by real estate "investors" wanting to buy it. Mail, email, text, etc. Ugh.

I digress.

Having to deal with my parents stuff got me to thinking about my own stuff.

I want my girlfriend to be taken care of if/when I die. I don't want her to have to work ever again. However, and this will sound harsh but reasons, I don't want her kids to get a penny if she dies. I don't know how to do this without setting up some sort of trust. I don't think a will is sufficient.

I was pretty much in this camp prior to meeting with and going thru the process of my friend's estate planning. Having seen the final product, I now prefer the RLT and LW&T method over the TOD and LW&T route. Assuming the cost is realatively inexpensive. I guess as in poker, it depends.

buahahah. The spite is strong in this one. I dunno what it's called in your jurisdiction but over here you'd maybe consider asking your fake lawyer about the pros and cons of a "life estate". You're welcome.

RE: The subtle implications that lawyers are crooks.... Dunno. The well is pretty poisoned at this point. Only a lawyer is qualified to tell you if you need a lawyer. Law, like medicine, should never be googled or forum'd but nothing I say is going to convince some ppl of either of those things. Robots are definitely going to take over some of the transactional work but I haven't been impressed with the autofill stuff yet.

Lawyers are not necessarily crooks in any larger percentage than the gen pop, however the gen pop has a large enough percentage that when dealing with important matters it comes into play in important ways. Lawyers are also not more competent by percentage than the gen pop. They do seem to be more arrogant by percentage, however.