lawyer fees for a will?

Met with a lawyer today to get a will drawn up. My wife and I just want to make sure our daughter is covered in case something happens to either or both of us. He's doing the normal will, a living will, and a power of attorney. Price is $300. Is that a fair price? He was recommended to me so I didn't get prices from other lawyers. The price seems fair to me but I really have no idea. Any thoughts? We're in Atlanta if that matters. Thanks everyone.

yes that is fair in my experience

Yep. That's about what we paid. And that was through an attorney I've known professionally for about 10 years.

I don't know the Atlanta market, but that sounds like a pretty good price.

http://www.uslegalforms.com/wills/

Unless you are a brazillionaire that will work for ya.

SupraWes wrote: http://www.uslegalforms.com/wills/ Unless you are a brazillionaire that will work for ya.

And who wouldn't love to own Brazil?

Yeah, we paid about $300 or so for ours.

So, just how binding are wills when it comes to wacky requests? I'm specifically referring to the "Scooby-Doo" clause whereby someone has to spend the night in your haunted mansion before they can get your old crap. Would a will with a stipulation like that hold up in court?

jg

Sure it would, unless the request itself is an illegal activity.

What actually happens when a crazy old lady gives everything to a cat? Is the property split evenly? Does it go to the relative that takes care of the cat?

What happens if you will someone a Boot to the Head?

SupraWes wrote: http://www.uslegalforms.com/wills/ Unless you are a brazillionaire that will work for ya.

Lawyers who make their living administering estates love form wills filled out by non-lawyers. It's a never-ending gravy train. A few hundred bucks now will likely save tens of thousands later.

Trust me. That isn't just lawyer protectionism. I'm not in estate planning, but I've seen a few form wills, and I've only ever seen one that was done right. That was the one I did for myself right after I graduated law school (and still remembered some probate stuff). My second one was and all my future ones will be done by a pro.

The problem isn't usually the forms, though. The problem is usually that they aren't filled out properly or completely. The other thing that trips people up is they don't execute them properly. There are significant formalities that must be observed in executing a will, and failure to do the dance properly can cause big, big problems down the road.

JG Pasterjak wrote: So, just how binding are wills when it comes to wacky requests? I'm specifically referring to the "Scooby-Doo" clause whereby someone has to spend the night in your haunted mansion before they can get your old crap. Would a will with a stipulation like that hold up in court? jg

Depends on what it is, and it can vary a bit from state to state. Those types of restrictions generally can't affect fundamental rights. For example, a provision disinheriting you unless you marry a nice Jewish boy would likely be invalid.

Tommy Suddard wrote: What actually happens when a crazy old lady gives everything to a cat? Is the property split evenly? Does it go to the relative that takes care of the cat?

Depends. You can't actually leave property to an animal. You can set up a trust to care for the animal. Assuming you tried to leave property directly to an animal in a will, it would either pass under the residuary clause of the will (the part at the end that says everything else goes to ___) or, if there was no residuary clause (or the residuary was to an animal), the property would pass by intestacy (i.e., the way it would pass if there was no will).

BTW, none of this is legal advice, I'm not anybody's lawyer, I'm probably not even licensed in the state where any of you live (I'm certainly not licensed in Florida, Tommy), and if you really need to know the answer to this question, find a lawyer near you.

Salanis wrote: What happens if you will someone a Boot to the Head?

I don't know, but I'd be willing to consider a reduced fee for probating such a will.

billy3esq wrote:

Tommy Suddard wrote: What actually happens when a crazy old lady gives everything to a cat? Is the property split evenly? Does it go to the relative that takes care of the cat?

Depends. You can't actually leave property to an animal. You can set up a trust to care for the animal. Assuming you tried to leave property directly to an animal in a will, it would either pass under the residuary clause of the will (the part at the end that says everything else goes to ___) or, if there was no residuary clause (or the residuary was to an animal), the property would pass by intestacy (i.e., the way it would pass if there was no will). BTW, none of this is legal advice, I'm not anybody's lawyer, I'm probably not even licensed in the state where any of you live (I'm certainly not licensed in Florida, Tommy), and if you really need to know the answer to this question, find a lawyer near you.

I really hope I never need to actually know the answer to that question. Or Salanis's.

Tommy Suddard wrote: I really hope I never need to actually know the answer to that question. Or Salanis's.

You probably don't expect the Spanish Inquisition, either.

Nope, never would have expected that, either. Funny, though.

NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

And yes, my will puts a reasonably significant chunk of change in a trust for the care of our pets to live out the remainder of their natural lives together, should they survive us.

So in effect, I am leaving my money to the cats.

I didn't expect this, either. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enlyHAJfwyI&feature=related

bludroptop wrote: NO ONE expects the Spanish Inquisition!!

Dang, beat me to it.