Consumer Reports reviewed 3 on-line will preparation services.  Their conclusion?

“Unless your needs are simple—say, you want to leave your entire estate to your spouse—none of the will-writing products is likely to entirely meet your needs. And in some cases, the other documents aren’t specific enough or contain language that could lead to an unintended result.”

When a client has an attorney prepare a set of estate planning documents, the client is paying for more than an attorney to correctly insert the names in the document. He is also receiving the attorney’s years of wisdom and experience in administering estates, knowledge of state specific laws, and general knowledge of human interactions through the estate process.

I am back after a few weeks of slow estate planning news and 14+ days in Europe.

The story about the family who found a collection of pristine, old baseball cardsvalued at $3 million in their aunt’s attic is interesting for reasons other than the discovery of unknown  valuable assets.  First, it is very rare that an individual’s personal items are worth more than a few cents on the dollar.  Even more rare is the family that is drawn closer together when dividing personal items.

My experience is that distributing personal property, no matter how small the value, can lead to acrimony and hostile feelings between heirs.  To prevent acrimony, individuals should specify which heir is to receive specific items in a memorandum.  Any hostile feelings can then be directed to the deceased and relations among siblings can be preserved. Hopefully.

When contemplating the big questions in life, did you ever wonder what would happen to your estate in the absence of a will?  Probably not.  But if you are morbidly curious, this calculator will tell you.

Note that this does not apply to insurance proceeds or retirement benefits unless the estate is designated as the beneficiary.  Note also that the State only receives assets if there are no relatives under any branch of the family tree.

At the intersection of estate planing, celebrity, and public voyeurism, is theThomas Kinkade estate litigation.  At the time of his death, Mr. Kinkade was separated from his wife for 2 years and had been living with a girl friend for 18 months.  His girl friend has offered 2 barely legible wills which leave her various sums.  The illegibility is allegedly due to his inebriation while writing.  Generally, a handwritten will is valid as is a will made while drunk (see the full article for some of the conditions and exceptions).   This matter will take years to resolve.

What advice can we glean from Mr. Kinkade’s handling (or non-handling) of his affairs:

1.  Once separated from a spouse, change the estate planning documents immediately.

2.  If changing the documents, hire an estate planning attorney rather than DIY.

3.  If eschewing an estate planning attorney in favor of DIY, write the will while sober, not highly inebriated.

Still unresolved is the effect of his death on the value of his art.  I am betting downward.

Back after a slow 4th of July news week.   A checklist of items to address when getting re-married:

1.  Consider a pre-nuptial agreement.
2.  Revise will.
3.  Change beneficiaries on retirement plans and insurance policies.
4.  Take an inventory of assets (could be useful in lieu of a pre-nup).
5.  Consider a pre-nuptial agreement.  Repeated for effect.  The other items will take care of themselves in the context of creating a pre-nuptial agreement.