In Using Software to Write a Will, a Lawyer Is Still Helpful

QUICKEN WILLMAKER PLUS 2011 This program felt like the most substantial, given the sheer amount of information it provided throughout the form-filling process. Because the program is actually written by Nolo, which publishes do-it-yourself books and software for legal matters, it appears that Nolo is drawing from its vast instructional library. If you have a question about a specific issue, like how to choose an executor, you can dive into its easy-to-read legal manual. And before you choose whom to leave your property to, the program encourages you to take inventory of what you own and describes what type of property actually passes through a will — an important point because items like 401(k)s, I.R.A.’s and insurance policies do not (they go to the beneficiary named on the policy). Several lawyers pointed out that you might run into problems if you didn’t properly coordinate all your assets. For instance, if you have minor children listed as the beneficiaries on your insurance policy, but you want their money to go into a trust, which is in the will, then you need to name that trust as the beneficiary on the policy. Ms. Twomey also said that I left it up to New York State to decide how to pay estate taxes. That aside, the Quicken will seemed fine for the most straightforward situations: I want to leave my assets to my spouse, then my children or some other assortment of relatives. It was also cheap; the program costs $41.99 and includes other legal documents that complete the estate plan, including a health care directive and financial power of attorney. Quicken also asked how I wanted to pay estate taxes, something I couldn’t answer with confidence. It quickly became clear that anyone worried about these issues should consult a lawyer. And before you rule yourself out of that category, consider that the state estate tax is levied on assets above $675,000 in New Jersey and $1 million in New York. That could potentially affect middle-class families whose modest homes and retirement accounts have appreciated over several decades, or even someone with a large life insurance policy. LEGACYWRITER This was the only program that allowed me to account for future children. This is a neat feature for expectant parents, though another program said it left out the option because it could raise complicated legal issues. LegacyWriter also allows you to put the children’s money in trusts to be released over time. Still, it took me a couple of tries to figure how to get the program to name a third layer of alternate heirs, beyond my husband and potential children. According to the first draft I created, if my husband didn’t survive me and we had no children at the time, my assets would be divided among my heirs as defined by state law. And, as Ms. Twomey pointed out, “Does anyone filling out these forms know who their heirs are? It’s different under every state law, and what layman is going to know that?” She also questioned the way the will defined descendants. In this will, children born outside of marriage, and raised outside the family home, would not be considered descendants (like John Edwards’s love child). That may not apply to most people, but what happens if you want your grandchild — the one raised by your son’s former girlfriend — to be included? “My concern is not so much that it is in there, but who is going to explain it to you?” Ms. Twomey said. Taxes could also be a potential issue. The LegacyWriter will instructs that any inheritance-related taxes owed on most assets passing outside the will — like the I.R.A. or 401(k) — will be paid by assets passing through the will (perhaps a home). So if you leave your home to your children and forget to make them the beneficiaries of your I.R.A., they may end up paying any estate taxes owed on the I.R.A. “A lot of times, we would provide that taxes paid for property passing outside the will be paid from those assets,” Ms. Twomey said. The program was easy to use, and its short explanations provided the answers I needed. It costs $19.95 and allows you to update your will free for 60 days. For $34.95, you also get financial and medical powers of attorney and a living will. LEGALZOOM Co-created by Robert Shapiro, a lawyer who was part of O. J. Simpson’s defense team, the service offered brief but instructive pop-up boxes throughout the questionnaire, along with a breakdown of how others answered a question.