Wednesday, September 16, 2009

No One Lives Forever



Recently I was asked to review LegalZoom.com and was given the opportunity to create a will at no cost. From the time that my first child was born, I knew a will was something I should consider. I should have considered it before then, it just never seemed that important. I am young and death is so far from my mind, especially when life is blooming all around me. School, work, and another child later, I read an article online that made me think about wills again. It was quite frightening. My husband and I both decided that we would make completing a will our priority. The article told us what could happen in the event of our death. The thought of our children becoming wards of the state was almost too much to bear. Then, having the state decide where our children would reside was not an option. We knew what we wanted for our children because we had discussed it for years. We would want them to grow up with our values and ideals, and a very similar atmosphere to what we already have. About three days later, call it fate, maybe a little divine intervention, I was contacted to do this review. I sat down blindly and began the process. I say blindly because I have no legal knowledge and I have never tried to prepare a will. I clicked the option to create my will. In three easy steps, I would have my will. Seems like a no brainer! Here are the steps:


1. Complete simple online questionnaire.
2. LegalZoom reviews your answers and creates your custom Will.
3. Your LegalZoom Last Will is mailed to you within 48 hours.

Almost too good to be true. The questionnaire is a bit lengthy and very detailed. I was stumped on a few of the questions, but there are help buttons beside each question that could have come from the pages of Wills For Dummies, if it even exists. It broke everything down and on some of the questions, you could find out the percentage of people that opted for a particular option. You can skip around and complete the process at your own pace. I won't say the process is fun. I was near tears when I added my funeral/burial requests and a personal note to my children. After I completed the process, I waited on my will. A day later, I received and email. I apparently skipped around too much because I left a section blank. Nice catch!!! I easily signed back on to my account and filled in the blanks. This time I crossed my fingers. A few days later, my will arrived, looking so official! I guess it looks that way because it is a professional document. I saved hundreds of dollars. Speaking of saving money, there are three pricing options and you can read about them here. Now all I need to complete the process are two witnesses and a notary. LegalZoom was a simple process. They hold your hand the entire way. If you can read and follow instructions, you will have no problem. Just don't skip around and try to play with your kids at the same time! If you have kids (and even if you don't) LegalZoom can help you plan for your child's future if you cannot be there to share it. No one likes to think about it, but it is one of the most important decisions you can make.

LegalZoom offers many services! Check them out. You can save more than money with LegalZoom!

1 comment:

Scott Driza said...

I agree completely. Everyone should have a Last Will and Testament. I used legalzoom several years ago with great success. I've also heard of people using www.DocBuilder.com to create their wills. I think the days of paying expensive attorneys is over.