Re: Making a minor change in a will

kivah · ‎03-11-2010

Two years ago, I changed the Executor of my Will - the para-legal that I previously went to retired - so I posted on Nextdoor dot com.

A man emailed me that he's a retired lawyer living 5 minutes from me - he came over and took my information. He then went home and a couple of days later, handed me a changed Will. He also made another change because the paralegal didn't explain something properly.

I asked how much and he said it's FREE - but I could buy him a bottle of malt-whiskey from Costco - which I did.

$2,000 - u mean a scammy lawyer????

Post on nextdoor - or see a paralegal. I always google peoples names/company names to read reviews - to make sure that people are satisfied with them and they don't overcharge.

GoneButNotForgotten · ‎03-29-2020

@BirkiLady wrote:
If it's been several years, it is probably time to have the entire Will gone over and rewritten to include any changes in your life, family (marriages, births, divorces, deaths, additional property or income, etc.). I don't think $2,000 is high for making changes to a Will. Do it now and make sure it will be written exactly as you want it. Your family needs to know what you want and why; and they must also be in agreement before any document is signed.

Include your funeral/memorial arrangements and donations to charities, as well. All of you final wishes should be in writing with your attorney, broker and tax advisor so they are able to provide you with the best possible advice by working together (when advising you).

I think $2,000 is pricey.

My DH and I just redid a fairly complicated will/trust and not with the original attorney. We didn't pay more than a couple of hundred dollars. (We updated heirs, executor, bequests, etc.) It probably helped that we worked with an attorney/law firm which does only this kind of law. We previously had tried to make these changes with with an attorney who doesn't specialized in this kind of thing and boy did we pay through the nose--for nothing. He had no idea what he was doing.

Learn from my mistakes :-)

Lipstickdiva · ‎03-10-2010

Please, please, please see an attorney for this. I am a paralegal and the majority of what I do is probate. It is so worth it to pay an attorney to do this for you.

Every state is different and there could be other things at play so no one here can really give you advice specific to your situation. It is my experience that 95% of the time when people decide to take matters into their own hands to safe a few bucks, something is done incorrectly and ends up costing more to fix the mistake and things don't end up being done the way you wanted them after your death.

For my area $2,000.00 would be crazy to make that change. My firm doesn't even charge that much for a complete estate planning package which would include a will, POA, healthcare poa and living will. Heck I don't even think a Trust would cost you $2,000.00.