kate_nepveu: Follow-up to unsolicited advice

Kate (

kate_nepveu) wrote,
@ 2006-10-31 07:18:00

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Follow-up to unsolicited advice

As I said last month, if you're aren't absolutely certain that your heir under your state law is who you want to inherit your estate, you must make a will (and if you have children, you must make a will regardless).

Now, Neil Gaiman offers a sample will for authors with specific provisions for creative works. I can't vouch for its provisions, as it's not a wrinkle in estate law that I studied, but if you have intellectual property to dispose of, take a look at it, run it by an attorney in your state, and make a will.

My older post was prompted by a suspicion, based on almost no evidence, that John M. Ford hadn't left an enforceable will; I'm sorry to see that this seems to be the case.

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fidelioscabinet
2006-10-31 01:49 pm UTC (link)

I still remember the horror of a fellow employee when she found out that if she died intestate, her ex-husband (whose improvident and cavalier attitude to money was one reason he was her ex-husband) would not only be their children's guardian, but would also have control of the house and all monies (which would go to the kids, but until they were eighteen...). She had a will drawn up and signed inside a week.

How about explaining next of kin, and basic guardianship principles for folks, so that they can see what the consequences of not having a will can be. I suspect that would open quite a few eyes.

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kate_nepveu
2006-10-31 04:53 pm UTC (link)

I'm reluctant to do that because it varies by state, even leaving Louisiana aside; but yes, it's likely that the remaining biological parent of a child would have a great deal of say in the upbringing of the child, including financial oversight; I'm not sure how this would work if there was a step-parent involved, however, so if this is a concern for people they should definitely do a little research at their local library and talk to an attorney if necessary.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

therck
2006-10-31 02:45 pm UTC (link)

It's not entirely clear to me-- If I want my literary estate to go to my husband, the person who is already my primary benificiary, is there any reason to change my will? 90% of it is either fan fiction or LARP scenarios. Neither have any particular financial value (most people who write LARP scenarios give them away, so it's hard to sell them), and my husband collaborated with me on most of the LARP stuff. The one or two completed original things I have aren't very good because they're very early works, all dating from about 20 years ago.

Of course, if circumstances change, either because I write something more or because my estate becomes more complicated, I'll need a new will anyway.

My major estate concern is actually guardianship of my daughter. Right now, she'd go to my husband's sister who is a wonderful person but whose cultural values don't quite fit with ours (things like gender roles, the importance of religion, geekiness and such. They mattered less when our daughter was an infant). Still, my SIL is the one family member who's nearby and in a position to take in a child. Other family members are either strangers to my daughter because of distance or not able to take in a child. Going outside the family is likely to cause a number of problems that I'm not sure I want to deal with or to have my daughter have to deal with.

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	ckd 2006-10-31 03:31 pm UTC (link)
	[Disclaimer: so not a lawyer.] Even if you want your literary estate to go to your husband, you should have provisions for who it should go to after him should he predecease you, or you both die at the same time. (Reply to this)(Parent)

kate_nepveu
2006-10-31 04:56 pm UTC (link)

In my prior post, someone had a story about two authors who left everything to each other; Author A died, left his copyrights to Author B, and then Author B's estate went to his family, so that Author A's work is now in the hands of Author B's family. Which may well not be what Author A intended.

In addition to what

ckd says below.

Now, is it worth it for you, given what you have as intellectual property? *shrug* That only you can say.

(Reply to this)(Parent)

hhw
2006-10-31 03:39 pm UTC (link)

Perhaps will-signing & witnessing could be a regular con event - would be easy to get signing witnesses as well as witnesses to the witnesses. People would have to come prepared with a document already filled out but not yet signed, but getting witnesses together who aren't named in the will might be one of the more awkward steps for some, and a con would provide a pool of volunteers.

then again, figuring out what you actually want to happen with your stuff (physical, financial, intellectual) is another obstacle. or at least it is for me, and that's been my excuse for not having a will yet. It's time to get past that.

(Reply to this)(Thread)

	kate_nepveu 2006-10-31 04:59 pm UTC (link)
	I don't _think_ there's a common requirement that wills be executed in the state where the testator is domicilied (lives, for most purposes), but I'd want to check on that before suggesting it to a con. I like the idea generally, though. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

fidelioscabinet
2006-10-31 05:18 pm UTC (link)

My parents redid their wills when they moved from one state to another; part of this was because there were some changes in circumstances (frex, I turned 18, and wouldn't need a guardian), but also because it can be a pain to bring in out-of-state (in their case, from over 600 miles away) witnesses when it's time for probate.
It's also a good idea to make sure your witnesses are still alive--if they did, you need to redo the will, I believe, even if it's just signing a new copy, with new witnesses. (Yes, they had to deal with that, too.)

(Reply to this)(Parent)

	fidelioscabinet 2006-10-31 05:25 pm UTC (link)
	A list of will requirements and related issues, state by state: http://www.legalzoom.com/law_library/wills/staterequirements.html I hope this is a trustworthy and reliable source. (Reply to this)

	mdevnich 2006-11-01 12:44 pm UTC (link)
	My older post was prompted by a suspicion I'd wondered about that, due to the timing. That's too bad. You have inspired me, anyway. I have a 3-line typed thingy that I signed (no witnesses) and stuck in my files, but I know I need to make a real one. (Reply to this)

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