A Rather Morbid Subject: Do You Have A Will?

Hi pyewacket! Yes I do believe that somehow we should be prepared somehow for that inevitable passing away. We should somehow have to make the proper arrangements. Although, I know about it this kind of things, I have not prepared one. I don't have a will, maybe in ten years time when I already saved a few millions. haha...Take care and have a nice day!

Well, I haven't made one and there's nothing in my name that I can leave to anyone if I did! So, there's no point making one...except to give away my jewellery...I've got two young sons....I can probably make a will to leave that to their wives(if and when they marry). I think my parents have made their wills but I have no clue what the contents are....but I'm sure to get half of what they have (we are just two sisters and I don't care about the wealth...but I sure hope mom leaves half her saris to me:P)

I do not have a will right now, and I really should. When my first husband received his terminal diagnosis that is the first thing we did. At that time we had a really good lawyer, who prepared seven documents for us, for one hundred dollars. We each got a will, and durable power of attorney, and something that is the equivalent of a living will, which is called different things different places. These documents are so important, I would not download the forms, then file them, I would find a real person to draw them up and notarize them. Life is too complicated at this time. That "living will", unless it is legally filed is not binding to anyone. You need durable power of attorney for financial, durable power of attorney for health care (do you want to be put on life support, do you want to donate your organs?), you need a will, and you need a legal document about what you want if you do not become so incapacitated that your DPOA is called in. If you are of sound mind and cognitive at the time of decisions, they are still yours to make. Your agent can be informed of your health conditions, however.

Hi Pye..... Even if you have no family, it's important that you have something drawn up. You can even do it yourself and have it witnessed. Then file it in the courthouse. That makes it all legal. You don't want the state to get it. We decided years ago, since we love animals so much, we're going to leave everything to the SPCA. I know, I know.....There are some poeple who don't like them and will say terrible things about them, but, they do a fantastic job, doing their best to take care of animals that aren't treated quite right. Plus, they offer shelter, medical help and other services for people who just can't afford to take care of their animals. They are also non-profit. They work from donations and grants. Yep, that's what I'm doing with my estate. It all goes to them.

I've drawn up various wills over the years, leaving various things to family and friends of the moment. Guess I should draw up another one. I'm not even sure what the last one says. Maybe I'll do that this weekend sometime... or not.

nope.. i dont yet have a will to name the lucky loved ones who will inherit my millions... haa.. haa.. haa... (i may not even own a million body hair - let alone a million dollars..) almost everything i own - my car, my home.. is co-owned with my husband.. so i guess automatically, we would inherit those when the other pass away. as for money... i barely have any savings.. what i have is all tied up in a fund - something which compulsory in this country - and would only be available when i reach 50-years old... should i die before that (please God, NO!).. i have already 'told' my husband - how i would like him to 'divide' the money among my 5-children, my mom and himself.. and a big chunk of it would be for my children's education... i think it's easier when you dont own so much... much easier to just keep those concerned know what you would like them to handle things when you're gone.

I am starting to think about this stuff more and more , but don`t know where to begin either ... I know I am leaving everything to my kids , but I don`t know who can handle the arrangements , like who will bury/cremate me as I want to be cremated ... I think thats alot to ask of your own family so I may ask a friend , when I find the right one , or my sister , but not my kids ... I don`t know how my sister handled it when Dad passed , she is still having a hard time with it ....

with a living will ya have to have some one to leave it too. I would just write out what ya wanted done with what ever you haveand get some one to noterize it and ya also can have a preacher or some one like that as a wittness. Thats if ya have onemight also be agood execator for your estate

Neither me nor my hubby has a will. We do have some life insurance but we haven't got a will yet. We don't have much either but it's always good to have one. We know once we have children then we'll be going to get a will for sure. I'd like to get a living will made up sometime but right now all my family knows my wishes on those issues so I don't worry about it so much.

Oh yes, we have wills. My sister is to be guardian of my children if they are still minors when we die, and she will be the executor of the estate as the estate will go to my children. As you said, there is nothing much of an estate but there is insurance and a few investments socked away. By the time we die though, that money won't exist, but then I will probably have inherited my portion of my parents' estate. Since you don't have any close family I recommend a close friend. It doesn't HAVE to be family. A close friend can be an executor, or even a lawyer (but that'll cost you). You can "leave your estate" to a charity if you don't think there is anyone you would rather leave your money to. We are also supposed to have a Power of Attorney drawn up but we just haven't found the time or money to do so. This gives the other spouse the ability to access the others' bank accounts in the event that one becomes incapacitated, but still living, as well as the authority to decide whether to pull the plug if that situation arises. A discussion on here prompted me to discuss with my husband what our wishes are as to what is to be done with our bodies after we die. I do not want cremation. I made that very clear and he said he would follow my wishes. He, on the other hand, said I could do whatever I want with his body. (he he he) We should get this in writing, however, in the event that we die together so that the children will know what to do.

no I don't. but I do have made arrangement with my husband about my pet. If I die, he will either take care of her or find a new home for her if he doesn't feel like having a cat. He got the cat for me, he is not abusive or anything but not necessarily a cat lover or any animal lover. He has helped me a lot in times of financial trouble so it will only be fair that if I die, my pension, savings etc will be his and he will arrange for the cat or kids if we ever have any. he is a pretty fair person he will not just squander it for himself. all this is already written on my investment and pension etc. By law if we both of us die and we have no kids then the money will go to the estate. Maybe I will arrange mine to go to charity.

I'm kinda the same as you, all those millions I have to leave :( I admit I don't have a will and suppose I should, it's been on my 'to-do' list for years now. The only thing anyone has expressed any interest in is my bell collection (over 300 bells) the kids all want it, it wouldn't be the same split 4 ways but suppose best would be to either designate specific bells to specific kids or maybe do something like all 4 have to get together and take turns picking bells.

I don't think this is a morbid subject. We all think about it. Like you I have no life insurance nor a will. I plan on writing my own will and giving a copy to each of my kids. They already know I will be creamated. They also know what I want done with my ashes. As for my belongings. For the most part my kids and grankids know what I'm giving them. I don't have an estate, so there is nothing to fight over. Guess all the rest will be up for grabs. I guess I will have both of my kids make my arrangements. I have heard of living wills, but really don't know all that much about them.

It's not a morbid subject, pye. Life is unpredictable. I've thought about a will and life insurance. I don't have either and don't want to place a burden on my daughter. My so-called estate is yard sale material, with no money or investments. I am going to look into life insurance. If I quit smoking it will be affordable. Thank you for posting this topic.

I don't have a will but then again I have nothing of value to will to anyone. If something were to happen to me, what little I have will stay with my husband and children.

No I dont have a will but have been thinking of getting one. I dont have life insurance either. My family knows what to do if anything should happen to me. So thats a good thing.LOL I dont really have anything worth leaving to Im not really sure if it would be worth getting a will. I do have to get life insurance thou.

Well I haven't got to that point yet not until I have my wealth to put in my will (LOL!) and if that time comes that i earned my wealth I would put in my will to my future kids (haven't got any kids yet) my husband, my brother and sisters and my parents too and I would consider giving some to charities so that I could have a good place in heaven. If I were in your case I would give my will to charities, and also think of your closest friends that really means a lot to you.

No we don't have a will but it is something I am looking into this year or shall I say very soon. I keep talking about it to my husband as I want to make sure my son is taken care of if something happened to the both of us. We don't have much at the moment either but my main concern is my son. My husband has life insurance through his work and we are covered under that, but still we haven't discussed this in detail nor put it down on paper. Can I have the link you found that costs $19.00?

My husband and I haven't done our wills. We need to. My step sister just passed away at the age of 33. She has a 4 year old son, but was remarried and the biological father is not involved at all and doesn't want to be. She never got to doing her living will. The only thing they have is a notorized piece of paper stating that her son should be with my stepmother. Its an all out battle now. Its definitely put things into perspective for us. We don't want our families fighting over our kids.

Well, I think it is too early for a will, what I have now, I might not have later. Me and my husband own a hoese which is not paid off yet, but if they put forecloser on it (no matter that I don't want to think about it now) I can't write it in the will. Other things I have, are personal things, like dresses, haberdashery, nothing comes to my mind right now that other people would be interested to inherit from me.