Handwritten wills - Don't even think of going there!

It sounds so easy.  Write down who gets what and sign the paper.  There is your will!  Not so fast, I say! And come to find out, so does the Colorado Bar Association (CBA).

The Colorado Bar publishes great brochures relating to wills, guardianships, and what to do when someone dies (see the end of this blog for the link to these brochures).  What do they have to say about hand-written wills?

"How should a will be done?
A will may be handwritten or typed, and it must be signed and dated by the willmaker (or at the willmaker’s  direction).  The will must be witnessed by two uninterested parties, and should be notarized.
You are strongly encouraged to work with an attorney to write your will, but Colorado generally recognizes handwritten, or “holographic,” wills.  Drafting a will requires special skills, and holographic wills are frequently found to be ambiguous or defective, causing delay, expense, and possibly litigation."

I speak from experience when I say handwritten wills are not a good thing to do.  My mother wrote out her wishes on a sheet of paper and gave it to me.  When she became ill, I completely forgot about it as I had not looked at it for years.  And come to find out, her "will" was really more of a medical declaration of what she wanted to happen during a medical emergency or the end of her life. 

Had she had a lawyer help her with her will and medical declarations, I really believe that the end of her life would have been much easier, not just on her, but on her loved ones, too.  With five daughters, all very strong minded, I might add, we all had ideas of how Mom should be taken care of.  But what did Mom want?  We all remembered different conversations with Mom and brought in our own flavor of what to do at the end of life.  It was very difficult for all of us, something I know my mom would never have wanted for us.  

When thinking about writing your own legal documents, please think again.  It may sound easy to write down what you want to happen after you die, but it can turn out to be a whole different story when you are no longer here to clarify questions that come up.  This is especially important when deciding who will care for your minor children.  

Don't take chances that your legal documents will meet state requirements and everyone will know what you want from a piece of paper with your signature on it.  Find an estate lawyer to work with.  

Not sure how to find an estate lawyer?  Check out my book that has a section dedicated to finding and working with estate lawyers:  Six Easy Steps to Find the Right Estate Lawyer for You. 

I promise you, it will be less expensive to work with an estate lawyer now than to have a court step in after you are gone because your handwritten will is not considered valid.  Do it once and do it right.  Your loved ones will thank you!

As promised above, here is the link to the Colorado Bar Association's on-line brochures:  http://www.cobar.org/page.cfm/ID/2760/ 

Take care,
Kay

Getting Older - It's Not All It's Cracked Up To Be...

A friend of mine and her daughter were here this last weekend for a climbing competition.  Her daughter is an incredible climber and they were in Boulder for the nationals.  

During the long weekend, my friend and I were discussing some of our pains and illnesses that seem to be coming on more and more as we get older.  We did not anticipate getting older when we were young and strong (she was a Stanford woman's softball coach, so when I say young and strong, I mean it!). And my first injury or serious pain in life was when, as an adult, I got a whiplash from a roller coaster ride in Santa Cruz. 

So what is it like to get older?  That's hard for me to put into words, but I'm going to try.  I know myself so much better than I ever could have when I was younger.  I like myself and my friends more than I did when I was younger.  My friends now have a certain grace that comes with aging.  Plus, I choose my friends more carefully now than I did before.  

My body is definitely changing.  I just laughed out loud at that simple statement.  I can't keep weight off like I used to.  My skin is not as taunt as it once was.  My feet hurt sometimes.  Overall, I am thankful I am healthy and strong.  I just wish...

that as we aged, we did not have as many illnesses and diseases -- just like when we were younger.  It seems like once we hit 40 and 50, surprises come our way that we never thought would happen to us.  Like the increase in cancer and heart disease.  Diabetes.  Arthritis. And dementia.  Yes, at 40, dementia is now easy to diagnose and is a scary thing to live with, along with all the other diseases that are prevalent as we get older.

If you are in your 40's or 50's and you have not yet taken care of you will, guardianships for your children, and powers of attorney for medical and finances, to name a few, please think about it.  No one ever expects to age.  Don't ask me why.  Nor do we expect to have serious medical conditions where we possibly cannot fend or make decisions for ourselves.  That only happens to other people.

Take a minute and think about my 9 step program found on my website at:  http://www.kaydiller.com/9steps. I promise you, my 9 step program will help you get things organized and in order in a simple and effective way.  Go do it now, before something else takes away your attention, like that back pain that wasn't there yesterday!

Take care,

Kay