My husband and I our in our mid to upper 60's and a year ago we downsized (financial reasons) into a villa in an over 55 community. We have an outdated will in another state that was done over 25 years ago and we need to cancel this will and have another one done with our now life, financial changes, and changes of our wishes. We have only 1 daughter (48 yrs old) and have discussed our wishes with her about everything we have going to her, when her dad and I are no longer alive. She has also expressed that she would love to have our villa and inquiring if we can only do an updated will or do we have to have a trust? A trust is very expensive and we really can't afford to go to an attorney to have this done. Can we have a simple will or trust drawn up online through Legal Zoom? If we can have this done I then will write a letter to former attorney in other state and have letter notarized to cancel the former will, due to new will/trust drawn up. I know my brother and I had a POA drawn up through Legal Zoom for my parents and it has worked out well. Just don't know about wills and trusts.....Has anyone done a will or trust through Legal Zoom and if so was the cost reasonable and did it work out well?
I also would recommend having a Medical Directive drawn up which talks about your final health wishes. That will give your daughter some peace of mind on how you want to proceed medically, if at all. I was so glad my parents had that.
Also get your financial Power of Attorney and medical Power of Attorney updated. My parents originally only had each other as their POA, but when my Dad went to the hospital I couldn't give any consent as my Mom was POA, and Mom was very hard of hearing and almost blind being in her 90's. So my parents quickly got their POA updated to also include me [only child].
An Elder Law Attorney is also good to have just in case you should out live your finances, which can happen. These Attorneys know how to navigate through the Medicaid maze, again which will be helpful for your daughter.
And get the Wills updated ASAP. My parents Wills were older than dirt and the way the Wills were written would have created a terrible nightmare for me.
Also your community, how does it have the age restriction enforced? Through a HOA? If so, there could be specific details needed in the property transfer document. If something happened next year, that’s 6 years before she could move in..... on the other hand what if your situation changes in another decade or two, you want the legal to be flexible enough yet be good for your states laws. Really having a good atty is worthwhile.
I’d ask around your community to find a couple of attys your neighbors have used and ask prices based on Freq’s list.
Their inertia has already made it difficult for me to effectively advocate for their benefit....
My first trust I wrote it after consulting a terrific how-to book and searches on expert websites then had an estate attorney review it. The cost of his consult was low, though I don't recall how much as it was a long time ago.
One thing, when it comes to legal documents is is not a do-it-yourself project. All it takes is one misplaced word or one missing word to create havoc for your daughter. It is much better to have an Elder Law Attorney where you can drive to the office and sit face to face with the same person each time. They are familiar with the State laws and what might be coming down the pike. With the recent Tax Reform, that might tip the apple cart as States scramble to find ways to make up huge lost tax revenue that they had depended upon by large corporations in their States/Counties/Cities.
My parents have passed, and Dad's estate is still in Probate, but it has been so helpful having the Elder Law attorney and her Staff walking me thought this process, and actually doing the Probate required paperwork and knowing exactly who to call at the Court House.
I use an Elder Law Attorney who works for a large firm, thus if my Attorney should leave the firm, then there are other Elder Law Attorneys ready to step in to help her clients.
Yes, it can be expensive, but it can also be even more expensive if one tries to do it themselves which would cost them more if by chance there are mistakes made on the legal documents.
As others have suggested, I would also recommend seeking advice with a reputable Elder Care attorney. Our parents had a revocable trust done up long ago in FL (they had a second residence - snow geese!) When dad was having issues and nursing home was imminent, we took mom to the EC attorney and had everything drawn up to protect them and their assets (trust for the condo - the FL residence had already been sold), and their assets, as well as medical and financial durable POAs, including medical directives. Later, when dad had passed and mom was showing signs of memory loss, we redid everything, assigning the two local children as POAs and moving all assets to an irrevocable trust (condo and money). We use this trust now to provide the extra needed to pay for her MC residence.
Another nice thing about putting assets (money as well as real estate) into a trust, this does NOT have to go through probate when the principal dies. I keep the minimum needed to cover expenses in her bank account so that we do not have to mess with the courts... at least not much! Once she passes, everything in the trust becomes our property.
Another suggestion is to ensure they have some kind of burial fund. Mom and dad had done that and recent contact with them is that mom's expenses are now pretty much covered - one less hassle and expense to worry about!
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