Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Illinois

Why does he want / need a will?

If SON has a motivation for a will, it is perhaps for a more specific purpose and he ought to have a specificwill drafted for him if it's important.

I don't know of any such websites -- and I have checked out MANY sites provided by attorneys who write wills. I think a non-attorney would be committing the crime of unlicenced practice of law by publishing such a thing.

On another hand, though, there are plenty of cheap programs that do write wills. I'd steer you to, for example, Parsons Technology (www.parsonstech.com, I think -- write back if that's wrong and I'll find it for sure) who have a Family Lawyer program and probably even a will-making program; most of their programs sell for under $30 and many start at $19 BEFORE you apply their discount offers! (They allow you to buy online, over your modem, so you wouldn't even have to wait for the mail to get started!)

Your state laws provide for distribution of his assetsshould he die, to his wife if he's married, to childrenin some cases if he has any, to next of kin otherwise (meaning, probably back to you or to siblings). Is he ill?Is it that you wish to avoid probate (generally a good idea, but not accomplished by a will!)?

I can get you in touch with one of many very good estate planningattorneys in Illinois if you like since I belong to professionalorganizations of that ilk; perhaps for your own needs you should talk to an attorney anyway.

Form For a Simple Will

You might try the NOLO site to find inexpensive materials and software to prepare a Will. Their website is as follows:http://www.nolo.com/category/estate.htmlAnd in many office supply stores you can find displays of legal forms, generally also including forms for Wills.And several popular software titles, like Family Lawyer fy Parsons have programs that do a pretty good job for something in the ballpark of $35.But keep in mind that he will not be getting any ADVICE, nor will he have anyone familiar with whatever peculiarities exist in your state that are required to make the Will valid and to make sure it does as he intends.I have never once had a client come in with instructions for preparing a will that were not changed somewhat as a result of questions I asked them or points I discussed with them that they simply had not considered -- this is the lawyer's function.Remember that once it is time to Probate the Will it is too late for your son to clean up any mistakes, get it to comply with your state's law, or explain any ambiguous language to a judge.Many local bar associations will make referals to a list of experienced attorneys who prepare inexpensive simple Wills, often for as little as $75 and sometimes for as little as $25.Is saving that little money worth facing the prospect of having the whole thing done wrong?

Simple Will for your Son

Before you attempt to find a form, your son should examine his goals and what he seeks to accomplish. Then he should review the state specific forms or software that's available. After that, any form he selects or uses must be reviewed by an attorney so he is properly advised. I do not recommend that you use any form obtained from the web or internet.

Will forms on the Web

I believe that attorney Mark Welch has a link to the California statutory form will on his site at www.ca-probate.com. However, I'm not sure what state your son lives in-- this will would only be for Californians. Even if he is in California, I'd suggest he or you call some local estate planning attorneys for will prices. They should be inexpensive ($100-300) for a document that's going to last quite a while. The advantage to using an estate planning attorney is that your son will have the assurance that his property will pass to others exactly as he intends it to pass. Many of my clients are surprised to find out that their current estate plan does not transfer their property in the way, or to the people, they thought it would. I also hear from a lot of people who made their own wills, or had a non-attorney make their trust, and later want an attorney to review to make sure it's legal, thus losing any cost savings from a do-it-yourself project.