Personal Finance Notebook: Updating of wills is important

When it comes to writing a will, some of us have "after-I'm-gone" lists stashed in a desk drawer. Others have scribbled a simple statement on a sticky note and stuck it on the fridge. Still others have paid a lawyer to draw up the precise details for their after-death financial affairs.

And then there are the vast majority of Americans who have procrastinated or avoided the topic altogether.

About 57 percent of Americans don't have a will, according to a 2007 survey by Bankrate.com

The reason? In surveys, many say they don't have the time or the money, or don't like dealing with lawyers. A small percentage admitted they just don't like thinking about dying.

Most people don't have a will "because it's the last thing on their 'to do' list each year," wrote Michelle Goff, a Sacramento attorney specializing in wills and estates, in an e-mail. "By preparing your estate plan, you have to (acknowledge) that you will die someday. Many people don't want to face that fact."

But consider the alternative: If you die without a will, chances are the courts will be left to decide where all your personal property – your car, your pet parakeet, even your kids – will wind up.

Especially if your children are younger than 18, a will is essential to ensure that you – and not a judge – determine who will raise them and be responsible for their financial affairs, in the event you're not around.

Sally Phillips, a Sacramento mother with four children and a fifth on the way, says she and her husband drew up a will after their first child was born 10 years ago.

"There's a sense of relief," she said, knowing that her sister in Louisiana will take her children if necessary. Phillips said she and her husband, Jeffrey, an attorney for the state, modified some of their will's provisions for guardianship as their family grew.

Another benefit to a will is that you can spell out your funeral arrangements. If you want to donate to a favorite charity, that can be stipulated as well.

Without those instructions, it can get messy, as any attorney will tell you.

Jon Sayers, co-founder of itsmylife.com, a Florida-based online will and document company, says he and his wife started their business after nearly a dozen friends or family members died within a short span of time, leaving varied states of instructions.

"The worst part of death is the silence," Sayers said. "You don't know what the person wanted."

That happened, he said, when his mother died on the operating table and his father, in his words, "fell apart," leaving him to make all the decisions and arrangements alone.

The company's online documents have evolved according to customers' requests. The company launched "Private Letters," which are personal notes to be read in the event of your death, after a request from a client who, when she was 14, lost her father. She wanted to leave letters for her son to be read on his college graduation and his wedding day, should she not be around.

At other times, clients with out-of-the-ordinary requests are referred to a lawyer, such as the mother who didn't want her husband named as her children's guardian because he was serving time in jail.

Indeed, online wills are best suited for the most basic, straightforward family situations.

But you don't need to go online to create a will. It can be as simple as a handwritten letter – what's known as a holographic will – that is entirely in your handwriting, signed and dated. It doesn't require signatures of witnesses. If it's typed, however, a will must be signed by two witnesses, ideally individuals who aren't named as heirs.

Statutory wills are the fill-in-the blank forms that are typically found online, free at sites like the California State Bar's www.calbar.ca.gov, for instance, or from fee-based companies like itsmylife.com, Nolo.com and LegalZoom.com. Most start at around $20 for a basic, simple will.

Some offer additional documents, like health care directives, funeral instructions and even "private letters" to loved ones.

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Claudia Buck, (916) 321-1968.