coopersmommy
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? VA
My husband and I are mid twenties and would like to start a will now that we have a 12 month son for the sole purpose of naming guardianship in the event that we are both deceased. I tried to consult a lawyer in Fairfax County (where we reside), but we were quoted a price of $1000 to do a simple will. We don't have the money at this time to complete a will with a lawyer.
What is the cheapest way we can go about doing this without losing credibility and risk not having the will not be enforced? Would a simple handwritten document stating who we want children to go to suffice? Or does VA Law require it to be notorized or anything else to be valid?
After we have the document together, can we leave it somewhere in our house and tell someone where it is if it needs to be used? We really do not want any family members to have access to it prior, as our choice for guardian is not a family member. We will ultimately consult a lawyer and complete a full legal will, but we do not forsee having the money to do so for at least a few years.
We also do not want our children going to multiple specific family members for numerous reasons (we are worried these persons may try to overturn the will and seek guardianship once they find out we do not want the child to go to "family"). Can we outline these persons on the document without stating reasons and hurting feelings, or is that required? Will a simple "in any circumstance, we do not want our children to go to ____." suffice and be upheld in the event that we are both deceased?
Thanks in advance!
My husband and I are mid twenties and would like to start a will now that we have a 12 month son for the sole purpose of naming guardianship in the event that we are both deceased. I tried to consult a lawyer in Fairfax County (where we reside), but we were quoted a price of $1000 to do a simple will. We don't have the money at this time to complete a will with a lawyer.
What is the cheapest way we can go about doing this without losing credibility and risk not having the will not be enforced? Would a simple handwritten document stating who we want children to go to suffice? Or does VA Law require it to be notorized or anything else to be valid?
After we have the document together, can we leave it somewhere in our house and tell someone where it is if it needs to be used? We really do not want any family members to have access to it prior, as our choice for guardian is not a family member. We will ultimately consult a lawyer and complete a full legal will, but we do not forsee having the money to do so for at least a few years.
We also do not want our children going to multiple specific family members for numerous reasons (we are worried these persons may try to overturn the will and seek guardianship once they find out we do not want the child to go to "family"). Can we outline these persons on the document without stating reasons and hurting feelings, or is that required? Will a simple "in any circumstance, we do not want our children to go to ____." suffice and be upheld in the event that we are both deceased?
Thanks in advance!