Well, he DOES need to make a will. Not having one is just stupid. Leave it all to charity if you like, but if you don't have a will then politicians and lawyers get most of it. They don't need it!

Skid was right (for the wrong reasons, but still right). Dad did need to make a will.
Everyone should have one (unless they actually want the state dividing their assets).

In addition to a will you should check the beneficiaries on your life insurance, the beneficiaries on your IRA, your 401k, your work pension, etc. If you don't have another person named on your savings account, checkbook, brokerage account, etc in many places you can add a payable on death designation to be sure that the money goes where you want it.

Also, you should have a power of attorney for health care. You want to pick who makes your decisions when you can't.

And don't forget a financial power of attorney.

And call your health insurance and see how to add someone to speak/act for you if you can't.

I actually approached my dad to make a will, actually to update his will. He had not revised his for over 10 years. It still had EX SM in it. I made a will and told my dad about it and told him to get his in order as well. He ended up making a trust. He tried to show me the will and trust to let me know who was getting what and how much, I told him I didn't care about that, just wanted to make sure he took exSM out and had it updated to what his new wishes where. He could leave it all to charity for all I care. Although, I wouldn't really think his new "gold digging" 21 year old GF should get anything, if he chose to leave her something or everything then that is on him. As the executor of the trust I would see that his wishes would be fulfilled.

I Have let him and my sibs know what I want done with the little I have, who my jewelry goes to(I have some family heirlooms), One is going to SD if something happens to me. I am sure my sis is not comfortable with that since it was a gift from my grampa and his late wife. But they will do what I want done.

We have too many money hungry people around my dad, some people, who aren't even blood related, have asked my sis, who is the executor and who is getting what, from my dad. My sis told this person, I suppose his kids but not sure. I told my sis, I wonder why these people never ask me....Oh that is right, because I would tell them it is none of their dam business, as it seams like they are in line for him to drop dead.

My exSM's mom actually had the nerve to go to my dads, 2 years after exSM and dad split, and tell my dad that he still had an obligation to leave the majority to her daughter. At this point she was already engaged to someone else. We laughed in her face about that one.

If my dad would not have updated his will, god forbid anything happens to him, I would have contested it and depleted the trust funds with legal fees and court fees. So there is nothing left for her.

I've told my dad before, just sell everything you own, properties, valuables that you don't need or use. And live the rest of your life with that money and just enjoy it, travel. It would be a whole lot easier, if he left nothing.

DH and I have already said it's up to the kids to make a life of their own - we are going to enjoy the retirement we worked for and there may be nothing left!

We still need to make our wills. The SDs will be very surprised when they find out that they are not getting a penny.

Everything is set up with beneficiaries and TODs but if we died together in a car wreck or something....

Our trust essentially leaves his kids out. Now that DH has a grandson, he might want to rethink it, but he's too lazy to get it done.

A few years ago, SD was screaming outside our door, "AM I EVEN IN YOUR WILL????"

Yep, all about how much money they can get.

I am planning to remarry next summer and actually INSISTED that my future DH make a will and we do a prenup because I don't want to hear it from his kids should he go first. My estate is not as big as his, and my kids are not expecting an inheritance from me.

My DH of 32 years, and I did our wills after we bought our first house. 1/2 of Life Insurance went to trust for his 2 kids, until they turned 18, when he changed it to just me. Our wills leave everything to each other. If we die together, it is split between his 3 grandchildren 50%, and my niece and nephew 50%. And he told me that if he dies first (he's 5 yrs older) that I should change my will dependent upon how the skids & g-skids treat me.

Well, got the most recent example of this - This week I was told there were no ticket for me to OSGD graduation for me in favor of his sister (who was mortified, by the way and tried to give me her ticket - I wouldn't take it) My will is definitely being changed, ASAP. And I'm not happy that I had already offered to have the graduation party at our house tomorrow. DH went to graduation last night, and didn't enjoy it at all because of the way I was treated. He has already told me that we are pulling back from this Bullsh*t family because of the way they are treating me.

I Will be drinking for sure once this party is over. }:)