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3 years ago I went to a local lawyer who specializes in Wills. I
thought he did a nice job and I paid his fee of $300. He mentioned that
if I need to add a codicil in the future, it would be $50. Since then,
I'm being forced to revise that will because of a recent death of one
of the heirs. I went on line and found this web page where they also
specialize in wills. I could make out the form on line and then submit
it and they would recommend any changes. The fee for a standard will
with them is $59, and $15 for each revision ( they call it ) in the
future. I made out the form and came to a part where they are asking
for the name of the burial ground. Now, this is the gist of my post.
The $300 lawyer never asked me for that, which I personally think its
appropiate, but this on line lawyer has. Should I ask that other lawyer
why he omitted asking me that? I was under the assumption that the
executor of my will would take care of that.
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I made out the form and came to a part where they are asking
for the name of the burial ground. Now, this is the gist of my post.
The $300 lawyer never asked me for that, which I personally think its
appropiate, but this on line lawyer has. Should I ask that other lawyer
why he omitted asking me that? I was under the assumption that the
executor of my will would take care of that.
It's not usually a part of the will, since the will is often not read until
after burial. When I help people with wills, I also include an additional
page about funeral instructions, as well as a list of names to notify. It's
a lot easier to figure that stuff out with the person alive, and it is
somewhat related to dying, as is the will, so it's a good time to do those
things when making out the will. Since they aren't legal requirements, your
original lawyer probably didn't think of them, and that doesn't make him
wrong. The online service probably had a lot more feedback, and the funeral
home might have been suggested.
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On Mon, 16 May 2005 08:57:06 -0400, "Boothbay" <harri85274@aol.com>
wrote:
The $300 lawyer never asked me for that, which I personally think its
appropiate, but this on line lawyer has. Should I ask that other lawyer
why he omitted asking me that? I was under the assumption that the
executor of my will would take care of that.
In my opinion, the answer is no. It is something I mention to clients
as something they need to take care of, but I don't think most lawyers
advise clients on this specific issue.
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Boothbay wrote:
3 years ago I went to a local lawyer who specializes in Wills. I
thought he did a nice job and I paid his fee of $300. He mentioned
that
if I need to add a codicil in the future, it would be $50. Since
then,
I'm being forced to revise that will because of a recent death of one
of the heirs.
A well-drafted will does not have to be amended when one of the
legatees dies. That possibility is one of the things the drafter
typically considers and makes provision for in the original will.
I went on line and found this web page where they also
specialize in wills.
Who's "they"? Are they a law firm, or are they practicing law without
a license? What are their credentials, not to mention their people
skills? How do they, or you for that matter, know that the answers
you check off on their online form really _do_ accomplish what you
want? IMO you have to actually sit down with somebody who knows what
they're doing and have a real conversation to be able to do that; no
computerized expert system can take the place of that yet.
I could make out the form on line and then submit
it and they would recommend any changes. The fee for a standard will
with them is $59, and $15 for each revision ( they call it ) in the
future.
That's $15 for revising one of _their_ drafted wills, right? Not $15
for revising the will you've already got.
I made out the form and came to a part where they are asking
for the name of the burial ground.
What for? Do you want to have to amend your will every time you
change your mind about where you want to be buried? That doesn't
belong in a will.
Now, this is the gist of my post.
The $300 lawyer never asked me for that, which I personally think its
appropiate, but this on line lawyer has. Should I ask that other
lawyer
why he omitted asking me that? I was under the assumption that the
executor of my will would take care of that.
I have never heard of including a reference to the name of the burial
ground in a will. How could you, anyway? Even if you have
"pre-planned" you may wind up dying and being buried in some other part
of the world, or (heaven forbid) dying in some disaster where they
won't find anything of you to bury. The burial takes place before the
will is probated, usually, anyway, so how could the probate court have
any control over where you are buried? A separate set of burial
instructions to your next of kin is what you need for that, not a
clause in the will. The only thing a will is for is the disposition
of your _property_ after your death.
What I can't figure out is, you've already paid a real lawyer $300 to
draft you a will. And you know he would only charge you $50 for a
codicil, which you don't know yet whether you really even need because
I presume you haven't spoken to the previous lawyer yet about the death
of one of your legatees to find out whether you do or don't need to
change anything in the will to account for this. And now, you want to
throw out the baby with the bath water, draft an entire _new_ will (not
a codicil, mind you -- it would completely replace the old will) based
on some website, for MORE money than the real lawyer would charge you
to revise the will you already have? I'm at a loss to see your logic
in thinking this would be a good idea.
--
This posting is for discussion purposes, not professional advice.
Anything you post on this Newsgroup is public information.
I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client in any specific legal
matter.
For confidential professional advice, consult your own lawyer in a
private communication.
Mike Jacobs
LAW OFFICE OF W. MICHAEL JACOBS
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy #300
Columbia, MD 21044
(tel) 410-740-5685 (fax) 410-740-4300
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Boothbay wrote:
[concerned because a lawyer who drew up his will did not ask him to
specify his future graveyard while another did]
I was under the assumption that the
executor of my will would take care of that.
It's optional. You can specify what graveyard to bury your body in or
you can leave items such as that, the mortuary and so forth to your
executor. Some folks go so far to buy their funerals in advance which
will take care of such details as coffin make/model, type of music to be
played, any please omit notices and so forth.
There is nothing wrong in either asking or leaving it alone.
-paul
ianal
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lawdog <nunyabusiness@nospam.com> wrote:
"Boothbay" <harri85274@aol.com> wrote:
In my opinion, the answer is no. It is something I mention to
clients as something they need to take care of, but I don't
think most lawyers advise clients on this specific issue.
Right. Because, while burial instructions can certainly be placed
in a will, they would really have no effect. The purpose of the
will is to pass title to property. So unless you give your
executor a large gift and say that it's contingent upon his making
specified burial plans, it won't be any better than making a
separate letter telling what you'd like to happen.
Stu
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According to Paul Cassel <pcasselplustwo@comcast.net>:
Boothbay wrote:
[concerned because a lawyer who drew up his will did not ask him to
specify his future graveyard while another did]
It's optional. You can specify what graveyard to bury your body in or
you can leave items such as that, the mortuary and so forth to your
executor. Some folks go so far to buy their funerals in advance which
will take care of such details as coffin make/model, type of music to be
played, any please omit notices and so forth.
There is nothing wrong in either asking or leaving it alone.
Just a note of caution about pre-purchased funerals: I'm aware
of a recent example where the deceased had made such arrangements.
The mortuary in question, upon being notified of the client's
death, refused to discuss the matter at all with the family until
the family could produce a copy of the prepaid contract.
You might think that it would be partly the mortuary's responsibility
to keep track of who they had sold such prepaid arrangements to,
but apparently the mortuary didn't see it that way. For several
hours, it looked like the family might not be able to use the
prepaid arrangements, until the contract was finally located.
--
Dave Wallace(Remove NOSPAM from my address to email me)
It is quite humbling to realize that the storage occupied by the longest
line from a typical Usenet posting is sufficient to provide a state space
so vast that all the computation power in the world can not conquer it.
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