Happy New Years! It might be a little late to add anything extra to your resolutions this year, but have you considered getting your will and trust?
Wait, wait, before you click off this article because you really can’t be bothered to go through all the hassle of getting a plan, just hear me out for a second. A will and trust or an entire Estate Plan (which includes a will and trust, legal directives, and powers of attorney) aren’t actually that complicated, especially if you’re just setting up one that’s bare bones and is there in case of emergency. There are plenty of services designed to make getting a will and trust simple and affordable!
The 3 Paths to a Will and Trust
How simple and how affordable? By going through online services, you can get a will for around $150 (there are different services depending on how in-depth you’d like to go). The issue with online services is that you could end up making mistakes while filling out the form, or the forms itself could have errors in them! The benefit of an online form is that it takes around an hour or two to fill out and a few personal hours tallying up your assets. Usually, the forms ask questions and take you through a process to make sure you don’t miss any common items that should be included in your will.
If you’re looking for the best possible service and would like to avoid all errors, you’ll need to go through a lawyer. This could cost anywhere between $300 to $2000 depending on how long it takes and how detailed you’d like it to be. Lawyers also guide you with questions to “discover” all of your assets and can go into more detail with you about specifics. Lawyers tend to have a better track record of making sure everything is accounted for, but this scrutiny means that it could take a few weeks after your first meeting with them for your will to be prepared.
There’s also a way that combines the affordability of using an online service with accuracy of a real-life lawyer, and that’s going through MetLife Legal. MetLife Legal is an SDPEBA sponsor that allows our members to have access to high quality lawyers for around $10 a paycheck, but you’ll have to sign up for a full year.
Once you have MetLife Legal, all you need to do is set up your account, and call or go online to schedule an appointment with a lawyer! Going through MetLife Legal has the added benefit of then giving you access to lawyers for a full year and allowing you to work with top rate law firms just by being a member! You also have access to a legal helpline that you can call for legal consultations, for free!
Click here if you’d like to learn more about the other services covered by MetLife Legal
Here’s the downside. You can only sign up for MetLife Legal during open enrollment. Meaning you’ll need to wait until May (City) or October (County) to finally cross this item off your to-do list. But if you add it to your calendar or set a reminder to sign up around then, you’ll be set!
Want to learn more about Estate Planning? Check out this video where SDPEBA’s Will Stover interviews a lawyer!
https://news.sdpeba.org/estate-planning-peba-talk
Estate Planning is also a crucial step in retiring, check this article out to learn why.