Making a Will

Question: “I saw your post about proofreading your will and it reminded me that my husband and I haven’t done one! Do you have recommendations for doing a simple legal will yourself (online, software, etc.)?”

Top 7 Answers:

There are too many pitfalls that could affect the ultimate distribution of your estate to leave it to legal zoom or to do nothing (known as dying intestate.) Leaving your assets per stirpes vs. per capita (google it). If you owned property before marriage and die married with kids but without a will, your property could be owned by your spouse and kids instead of 100% by your spouse. Your spouse would then need a guardian ad litem appointed by the court to protect your child’s interests if your spouse wanted to sell the house.  My best advice: talk to a professional.

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Read more: Parents, Kids and Wills: On Balance, The Washington Post