Last Will and Testament

[209]

Does anyone here actually have a well-written will that directs where things go?

Or, do you have a general will that gives everything to, say your wife, and then she can give various items to members of the family where she sees fit.

I ask for a reason. I may share those reasons such I get a response. But, my reason for asking isn't pretty.

How do you guys and gals do it?

I'm looking at my guns as I ask this.

 

[spooky_t]

Regardless of what your reason(s) - If you're really concerned about who *any* of your possessions go to, *be specific* in your will.
And be sure to have it witnessed and notarized.

 

[DoubleTapDrew]

If you want a do it yourself one I've seen that some people on here use Quicken Willmaker for establishing living trusts for NFA items. You'll still need it notarized and witnessed but it should handle the formatting and content aspects.

 

[Joe Gunns]

To answer your specific question. My will directs that everything goes to wife or daughter, if wife predeceases me. Have a "death book" with all account info and specific directions laid out in the safe. She has combo. Daughter has a more general set and will have to pay to get the safe drilled. We have been married 36 years and have good relationship with the daughter, so am pretty confident they will follow advice and directions. However, IF they choose not to, that's Ok, as they may have a different set of realities than what I am anticipating and I am not going to be there to care. In any event, if I had an item, items, or monetary bequest that I felt very strongly about, I would change the will to include those.
James

 

[TangSafetyM77]

I have a close friend who is an attorney who did our wills here in Texas. Actually it was a set of about 7 documents that we signed: Trust for the kid, physicians directive etc. Since the only material things I really care about are my guns, he had me just prepare a separate addendum. The will says that my firearms collection is to be distributed as per the addendum.

This way as I aquire more guns or sell some off, I can update the list. Or if I change my mind about an heir for a certain gun I can change it without having to change the will itself.

I have actually combined my personal list of guns with this document, so after I am gone, there will be a comprehensive list showing model, make, serial number, accesories, aprroximate value and intended heir. It is all on the same spreadsheet. So it says "Remington 243 with weaver 4X scope, aprox retail value $500, intended heir is Cousin Larry."

 

[texas bulldog]

all of my possessions, firearms included, would go directly to the wife, as hers would to me. but then, she is pro-gun, and i completely trust her judgment. if that were not the case, i suppose i would specify models and S/Ns and who they each go to.

 

[Cosmoline]

If you have personal possessions of significant value and esp. if you have real estate, you really need to consult an attorney. It's not very expensive and it can save those who survive a LOT of headaches. This business about using some computer software is fine if you don't actually have anything important to pass on. Otherwise, see a lawyer. Estate planning is tricky, and what works fine in one state may not work at all in another. There may also be tax considerations.

 

[silverlance]

i hear you, 209. I had my own reason that wasn't pretty a few years back. I wound up buying 600,000 of life insurance and making video tapes of myself and that sort of thing.

I still have 300k of LI and the tapes, but I put them away somewhere where I won't have to see them. Don't like looking at myself in bad states, you know.

Remember Stiletto Null? (rest in peace, buddy) He was a great guy, would talk to me about how to clean an FN49. Then he cashed in himself on a beach in NC or somewhereabouts.

Ive wondered more than once what happened to his guns. I hope they didn't sell them to any jane dick or jack, or worse yet turn them into the police station. As soon as I get a bit of free time I'm going email his family and send my codolences, maybe a card.

 

[HatFried]

The province where I live in allows for holographic wills, meaning that in so long as the will is written in one's hand writing it's valid under the law. Due to my estate, or lack thereof, my will is pretty general and broad. I can only imagine that I'd start making specifics as my estate gets bigger.

 

[HippieCrusher]

Get a will keep and it in the family

Otherwise your stuff will end up with the outlaws (if you're married) - I mean inlaws.

 

[Ala Dan]

Yep, I sure do have a (verifiable) written will; out lining to whom each item
(including firearms) goes~! First up, is my daughter; she gets what she
wants (any or all), then she can decide what too do with the rest~!

 

[3fgburner]

Wife and I are currently filling out the info forms, for a joint revocable living trust. Essentially, if one of us croaks, the other one snags the document binder and heads for bank, etc.

The will section is basically, "Anything I have, that's not listed in the trust, is hereby dumped into the trust".

 

[dav]

Yes, our will specifies the few things we possess that we want to go to someone in particular.

But mostly, if I'm gone, why should I care who gets it? (as long as it doesn't go to the state)

 

[Steve499]

A close friend of mine passed away. He had a will which made some distributions among his friends. He had notified most about their mention in his will, and he was hardly cold before some started in on his widow about when they could pick up their stuff.

My will, therefore, says everything goes to my wife. There is an addendum where I list the things (all guns, so far) I want to go to a specific person. I have not told anyone, even the kids, that they are to get anything specific. My wife can follow my desires for passing along my toys if she chooses, and, if so, at her own pace. I WILL not have her subjected to what my friend's widow endured.

Steve

 

[joab]

My friend died last year
Before he passed he gave me verbal instructions as to what was supposed to happen to his stuff and his remains, because he believed that his family would follow his wishes.
And knowing our relationship he assumed that they would accept my word as his
The only wishes fulfilled were the ones I was able to get to before his family swooped down.

I am also in the process, right this minute actually, of disposing of personal items and selling off non essentials
I am leaving everything to the wife with specific instructions as to who gets what mementos.
I can only hope that she follows through, but I know that she will have the best interests of my memory in mind what ever she does.

Not sure what I think of her plan to plant my ashes in a rice field in Vietnam, but everything done past death is done for the peace of mind of the living
I hope that209 is not doing it for the same reason I am

 

[Guitargod1985]

I made sure that my loved ones know I plan to be cremated. Part of this decision is based upon what I see in the development of land used in the past as cemetaries. I don't want some ***hole digging me up fifty years from now so they can build a shopping mall or apartment complex on top of me. And if you think this sort of thing never happens, it's happening right now down the street from me.

 

[308win]

I am not an attorney; but, states have laws about how property is distributed and if you don't like your state of residence's laws you need a proper will. If you don't have a large or complicated estate a will won't cost you much more than a few boxes of ammo at today's prices. It really gets ugly where someone with whom you have no natural affinity is in the distribution set by the law (read step parent) and your natural parent has certain wishes.

 

[03Shadowbob]

I am fairly young, 35, but have had a will for a long time. The way I look at it is this. I trusted my wife enough to marry her and if I trust someone that much then I trust her with everything I leave behind. If for some act of God but my wife and I die at same time then the life insurance, 401ks, individual retirement plans, IRAs, etc (about $2mm) goes into a trust where the kids college is paid for and then they get it at 25yoa.

 

[granuale]

209, I am a lawyer and want you to know that with the exception of federal taxes, estate law is controlled by state law. The advice you get here about how to go about things may or may not be correct depending on the state. I suggest you do hire a lawyer , but if you decide not to, definitely go to the library and do some research about what your state requires/allows/forbids in wills.

The above assumes you are a U.S. citizen residing in the United States.

Good luck,

Scott

 

[mindwip]

My family is big on Living trusts, and such. This way things dont go to court.

 

[glockman19]

I spent over $3,500 on a Will, Revocable Trust and advanced directive and ILIT. Money well spent my family will not experience probate and everything of any importance is in the trust, estate taxes will be kept to a minimum. The documents spell out Beneficiary's, executors, and everything else. I look at it as money well spent. As an Estate Planner I lead by example. My life insurance is also in a ILIT Irrevocable Life Insurance Truse so It doesn't become part of my estate. A large life insurance policy can have negative estate tax issues depending on the size of the estate.

 

[wraco]

Have a good lawyer write up your will. Be specific about what your wishes are and give special attention to who your executor will be. If you have no one you thoroughly trust, use a lawyer as executor.

It's also important to keep your will updated as things change as time passes by. The amount you spend, today, on a lawyer to write up your will is a bargain compared to what your estate may have to pay if your will is not properly looked after.

Best regards:
Rod

 

[bg]

I've been thinking about this a lot. I don't really have anyone who would be
interested in my stuff save for 1 Glock I promised to my niece. I don't know
what to do about the place here. It's not a home, it's a fairly nice mobile home
and it's paid for. I also have a stuff that could go, but I don't know what to
do with it right now. I've been thinking about willing most of my stuff to this
institute for the blind up here where I live, but I don't know if they'd be
interested. I guess I better get on the ball since I'll be seeing the middle
of a century + 5 next b-day..and as rotten as I am, I know I'm on borrowed
time.

Far as me, I'm getting hooked up with an affordable cremation place
here locally. I just went through this with my last parent a few months
ago and considering all, things went super smooth. No probate, or
fights among what's left of our family, etc. We had things pretty
well set up for her.

I can get charbroiled and planted over ar Riverside Natl Cemetery for
640.00 bucks. That's not bad. If any are interested, here it is..
http://www.arrowheadaftercare.com/index.aspx

And I apologize for getting off topic.

 

[209]

I probably need to pay more attention to the way I word things, but I was extremely upset with my son when I posted the OP. When I said I was "looking at my guns as I posted this" I meant I was thinking on how to leave them and to whom I should.

Basically, my will is the normal type that leaves everything to my wife should I predecease her. Should she go first, she would leave everything to me. I have one son by a previous marriage. Should my wife pass on first and then I die or should we both die at the same time, everything is left to him. Pretty standard fare according to the way I know most wills are done. We each have a list of certain possessions that we have asked to be given to various people.

My son, who is now 24yo, happened to see a rough draft and gave me a ration of crap. It seems he thinks should I die, he should share equally with my wife. Where kids get these ideas is beyond me, but he's being a butthead! :banghead:

 

[mindwip]

I dont know about your family situation other then what you have posted. But it is very common with kids no matter what age after they have bonded with there original parents not to see "new" Moms and dads as equals. This is when you get the "your not my real daddy"

When the parents of a kid either split up or one parent dies and the kid is left living with one parent. If the original parent decides to remarry or date someone, the new "parent" in the kids life has very little power over the kid from the kids point of view. To the kid this new person is not his mom or dad, sure they may call them that, and obey them most of the time, but to kids they still don't have all the power/respect of the original parents. Generally they don't consider them equals, they are an out sider. They rely on the bond between the original parent and them selfs.

Not saying this is right or wrong, and there are extremes both ways. But overall this is how things shape up. So your kid being upset is normal to a point, he sees it as if you die, then the next closes person to you, the person you are bonded to the most would be who you leave your stuff. Since you are picking someone else that hurts him. It might even have little to do with the will money wise, and more to do with the feelings of who your picking over him. Of course dont get me wrong i am not saying who should get what.

As i said i don't know the whole story, and that could change this up a bit. The age of the kid at getting remarried does factor in but after a certain age not so much. But at least its good he thinks

he should share equally with my wife

and not "i should get everything."