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ESTATE PLANNING
Why You Need a Will
by Ronaleen Roha

Even if you own your home and a couple of cars and have a fairly sophisticated investment plan, there's a pretty good chance that you don't have a will.

More than half of American adults don't. "Unlike most other things in life," says Cathy Egan, an estate and charitable planning specialist with the Lutheran Brotherhood in Minneapolis, "estate planning doesn't have a due date you can put on your calendar."

And, after all, planning for your own mortality is just a bit off-putting. You may also have to make unwelcome and difficult assessments of people you love. Is your son a spendthrift? Can your spouse manage money?

Then there's the tedium. Taking inventory of exactly what you own and how much it's worth is pretty boring. And there's always the feared lawyer's bill.

Where there's a will ...

But making a will can be very satisfying. Among other things, in a will you specify how you want your assets distributed and to whom, name the person you want to act as executor (also called a personal representative), set up trusts for minors who could inherit your assets, specify any charities to which you wish to leave assets, and perhaps most importantly, name a guardian for your children in the event that you aren't there to raise them.

It may not even cost as much as you think. Depending on where they live, a married couple with two minor children might pay $900 to $1,500, for wills and durable powers of attorney for finances and health care, two other pieces of most basic estate plans. For the do-it-yourself types with simple needs, software may even do the trick.

You can even jazz up the process, says Egan. "Close your eyes and ask yourself, 'What would I want my grandchildren or someone else to say about me 50 years after I'm gone?'" One man created a trust in his will to provide for an annual vacation for his kids and grandkids. A woman decided to leave enough to care for her church's organ.

What if you don't have one?

If you die without a will, the state's generic plan takes control and the results may be far from what you'd choose. Your spouse will share your estate with your children (or, if you have none, with your parents or siblings). He or she won't get it all. If the kids are minors, they get everything outright at the ripe old age of majority, often 18. And if you and your spouse both die, a court will decide who will raise your kids.

Lawyers, especially in states where probate is difficult, often include a revocable living trust in an estate plan because assets that you put in the trust during your lifetime avoid probate -- the often slow, court-supervised process of gathering and parceling out an estate. However, even if you use a living trust you still need a will to cover assets that, for example, didn't make it into the trust during your lifetime.

Making it legal

Some states allow wills to be totally written, dated and signed in your handwriting. But these so-called holographic wills can cause a lot of trouble, so avoid them and stick to printed or typewritten documents.

You can use computer software such as Nolo.com's excellent WillMaker to draft your own will, especially if your needs are straightforward, but getting a lawyer who is an expert in estate planning to review anything you do on your own is a good idea. If, however, you have an estate large enough to be caught by the federal estate tax (more than $1 million), or you own a business or have special needs (such as providing for a disabled child), find an estate-planning lawyer.

You don't have to change a will until there is a reason, maybe a marriage, birth, or divorce, or a significant change in wealth -- or you change your mind about your plan. Store the original of the will someplace safe (but not necessarily a safe deposit box, which may require court supervision to open after a death).

Estate Planning Resources

If you need a little push toward organizing, consider getting The Beneficiary Book: A Family Information Organizer in three-ring-binder format published by Active Insights ($29.95). It has places for a variety of personal and family information, including your advisers, your burial arrangements and details of your assets.

Nolo.com has information about its will-making software plus a lot of estate planning information in its Law Center.