simple will

[bbgeltz]

i reside in texas. i have one sibling. i am not married. i do not have any children. i would like to have all my estate go to a few select charities upon my death. i do not want anything to go to any living relatives. i would prefer to see my monies go to these charities rather than spending a fortune on an attorney to prepare a will. since i don't believe i have a complicated situation here, would it be advisable to do my own will utilizing a computer program? are there attorneys that would then review my will at a much lower cost?

 

[advisor10]

OCT. 6, 2001

DEAR BBGELTZ:

Thank you for wanting to do the right thing in assisting charities with your estate. However, I believe you are under somewhat of a mistaken impression as to the cost of having your will done. You could call various attorneys to get an estimate, and I believe it would cost probably no more than $500-$1000 if your estate is relatively simple.

Do-it-yourself wills done by computer program are not advisable, since if the language is not technically correct or if there are omissions or if there is ambiguous languge that can be interpreted more than one way or if all legal requirements are net, there is a 90% chance the will could be declared invalid, and then your estate would be divided in the exact opposite way of what you intended: according to Texas probate law, in which your relatives WOULD be dividing it among themselves.

Don't be penny wise and pound foolish--the best thing you could do for the charities and people you want to help is to retain the services of a professional attorney to help ensure EXACTLY what you want to achieve.

SINCERELY,

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