Why You Need A Will Now

(The following is a transcription from a video Linda and I recorded. Please excuse any typos or errors.)

Today we’re talking about how to make a will.

The kids are in bed, so my wife Linda and I are going to create our will. By the end of this article, you’re going to have your own will, too.

During this global pandemic, we’re all probably thinking a little bit about dying anyway. So let’s just get all the awkwardness out there today. Let’s just get it done. Create the will and be done with it.

We’re going to show you how to do so, how simple the process is and a couple of reasons why it’s important.

Really important.

Linda and I created a video of our discussion and how we set up our will if you’d like to view it, just click on the video below:

Creating Your Will

We’ve already created a will before, but we’re in a new phase of life. We’re in a new state with a two new babies…. and now without our pets. So we just have some adjustments we have to make to our will.

We’re going to go through this process and the reason we’re doing this is because it’s so simple. And not only will you find that it’s simple, you’re also going to be able to set up your will for not very much money. It’s really simple and then you just take it and get signed and boom, you’re done.

Linda and I are well aware this is not really a fun topic. You have to deal with your own mortality and the mortality of your spouse, but it’s worth it. And just give us a couple minutes and we’re going to convince you.

Making Things Easier For Your Family

The first reason why you need to create a will is because if you die without a will, in most states, you are going to make everyone else around you and their life really difficult. And it’ll make it a big pain and take up a whole lot more time than if you would have just created a will. Just do it. Do your family a favor and just make the will.

Let me read this to you. I’ve clipped this from an article.

What happens if you die without a will? If you die without a will, the probate process kicks in and the state will name a personal representative or a person who will distribute your assets. In most cases, a surviving spouse gets that difficult job, but naming a representative can get complicated when you add in ex-spouses, kids, parents, and even that oddball uncle who thinks you were best buds. Until the courts decide who will distribute your assets, they will be frozen. That means no one can touch your stuff. Even if you said they could have it and even after the court names a representative, family and friends might resent the person who was chosen.”
DAVE RAMSEY

That sounds like something I don’t want to live through.

A Messy Situation

Linda had a friend that this actually happened to. Where her husband passed and her children received the inheritance of the house. So, she was raising them basically in their house.

Her kids were receiving money from maybe his pension, or something like that, and she was paying the bills with that money. But once they got a little bit older, they were like, “Hang on, that’s our money.”

This is the type of stuff that happens if you don’t have a will. It can be very messy.

I’ve seen and heard of so many examples like this where things just get really, really messy. Then the other things to consider, who gets the kids if you die? This is something you designate in a will. And your pets. If you love your pet and you don’t want it to go to the wrong person, you need to designate that. These are all reasons why a will is so important.

The Emotions Of Creating A Will

When we’re talking about setting up your will, this can really bring up a lot of emotions and unpleasant thoughts but that is not the purpose. What the purpose of creating a will, is setting up your loved ones for an easy transition. This is just general housekeeping.

If Linda left the house leaving no diapers for the little kids, I’d be in trouble. I wouldn’t know what to do. Or if they were hidden, I would not know what to do. Just think about it that way. We’re just leaving things very clean for our loved ones if they ever need it.

Let’s talk about how to actually do this.

How To Create A Will

You could go to just a law firm down the street. You call your buddy who’s a lawyer and you’ll probably spend a few hundred to maybe many, many hundreds of dollars to do this. And I’m sure they’ll do a good job, I hope.

But like so many ways of doing this, there are actually some pretty good alternatives that are considerably cheaper online. There are a handful of online services where you can create a will for a small fraction of what you can by just going to see a typical lawyer.

And you can create one right now, which is even better.

Creating A Will Online

The truth is that for most of us, using one of these online services is more than adequate for our situation. Unless we were in that movie, “The Ultimate Gift.”

Lucky for Linda, and lucky for you, I have done all the research. And you all get to benefit from it!

Looking at these legal services online, Dave Ramsey has one. It costs about $129 which is pretty good.

LegalZoom is a really big one you’ve probably heard of. They are about $89 to do a will with them.

But the cheapest place that I’ve found is called Rocket Lawyer and that’s what we’ve used the last two times we’ve done this is what we’ll be using again because they let you do it for $39.

Now you get to take a peek of us doing our will and filling it out with Rocket Lawyer.

Just so you know, all of these online services are very similar to doing your taxes online or something where they just ask you a question and you just answer it. Then they turn it into all the legalese and make it look like a real official will.

If it wasn’t obvious enough, I’m not a lawyer, but if you do have any questions about any of this, feel free to ask them down in the comments. We’ll answer anything that we can about our experience using Rocket Lawyer and creating our will.

The Process Is Quick

I just finished (in the video linked above, you’ll see my new will). It took me 22 minutes and a few seconds. We had a couple difficult conversations because this is part of creating a will. Answering questions like …

Who gets the kids if we die?

You just answer the questions. It’s as simple as that (quick, too!).

There’s Help, If Needed

If you get stuck on something, there’s help. Because there are some questions where it requires a little brain energy to think through. But if you get stuck on anything, Rocket Lawyer has real lawyers you can talk to to ask questions. We didn’t do that but you will have that option available to you as well.

You can save it in the middle of filling it out. If you’re thinking, “Man, this is going to take me like a day or day to pray about it and try and figure this out.” You can save it and you can always come back to it.

I just really like it a lot and hopefully you can go just as quick and have it done soon.