Now that we have a daughter, I'm looking for advice from people who have set these sorts of things up recently. Did you set a lot of it up yourself, or go through an attorney for it? How much did it cost you? Any recommendations in the Chicagoland area?

 

Any other insight on getting this stuff set up would be appreciated.

Me too.

You keep hearing how you can do your will online. Should I do that, or contact an attorney? It's probably the responsible thing to do in life to have arrangements ready.

It's like anything else, you get what you pay for. Having a will drafted won't be that expensive and is probably worth it to get it done right and with the terms you want. Language in wills is very important and I can't vouch for the accuracy of legal zoom. Trusts are the same way. And the interaction between a trust and a will has to be considered as well. Again, it's not that you can't do it youself, but you run the risk of not getting what you want.

 

I have life insurance through my work and you can get that in your own.

 

By DOA are you referring to a living will?

Being an attorney, I would probably not spend money on getting someone to draft you a will unless you have a complex situation (big estate, step kids, feuding family members, etc.). *runs away from the family law bar association mob* If it's simply you and your wife and your kid and you want them to have everything, you don't even need a will. If you're the type that can research something and then apply what you've learned, there are plenty of resources online for this kind of stuff. The only other consideration is if you have a strong feeling as to who should raise your kid if you and your wife die. But that's pretty easy to spell out in a will.

 

 

Life insurance - go see someone about that. My advice is to do what I did for my son and what my parents did for me: There's some product out there (I don't know the name, my dad, a financial planner/adviser, set it all up for me) where you, the parent, contribute for the first 18 years of the kids life X amount a year. When the kid turns 18, the account becomes self-funding. You just re-invest the earnings on the account until the day he/she dies. The amount of the policy also increases the longer he/she lives.

 

Not sure what DOA stands for.

I forgot the P in there...durable power of attorney

When our daughter was born, we met with an estate attorney. We ended up getting trusts set up for both of us. She also set up a living will, DPOA, and basically covered every possible legal & medical situation that could arise, so I felt comfortable with it. We also listed exactly who should take care of her if something happens, which was good since my wife has a bigger family. It was a bit pricey at $2,500, but I thought it was worth in the end. (We also own a couple rental properties, one which is co-owned with a family member, so that our made situation more complicated than others)

My net worth is negative and I'm leaving 100% of it to Soxtalk.

You should have a will. Its not even about property, that will go per stirpes without one. But most parents want to have some sort of input on who is going to take care of their child.

 

So Id say absolutely a will, trust maybe. I personally like life insurance because of social security look backs etc, but that is years down the line and by then who knows what loopholes/tricks will be closed/opened.

 

You could theoretically do one without an attorney. Im pretty sure that for a will to be valid it just needs to be in writing, signed and attested by 2 witnesses.

You should have a will. Its not even about property, that will go per stirpes without one. But most parents want to have some sort of input on who is going to take care of their child.

 

So Id say absolutely a will, trust maybe. I personally like life insurance because of social security look backs etc, but that is years down the line and by then who knows what loopholes/tricks will be closed/opened.

 

You could theoretically do one without an attorney. Im pretty sure that for a will to be valid it just needs to be in writing, signed and attested by 2 witnesses.

Depends on the state but that's the gist of it.

Badger and Little, thanks for the info.

 

Any recs on where to go for life insurance? Anyone have a good experience somewhere? Not looking to get it through work.