Two Easy Ways to Make a Will, With or Without Using Lawyer

The majority of Americans die without having a will. That’s unfortunate, especially in California, where it is relatively easy to execute a basic will. In fact, the state even has provided a fill-in-the-blanks form will that anyone can use and many will find satisfactory. The technical name for this form is the California Statutory Will.

The forms--there are two--are relatively brief and less complicated than your typical lawyerly documents filled with legalese. But they still take some explaining, and it is easy to get frustrated trying to fill in the boxes.

The forms are a shorthand version of the statutory will. The full text of what you are agreeing to is found in the probate code.

There is one basic difference between the two forms: One allows you to give your property directly to your children; the other sets up a trust to be used to pay for their support and education until age 21. You can direct all your estate to your spouse with either form.

The forms do not allow a great many choices. The basic form leaves all personal and household items--such as a car or furniture--to your spouse, if living; otherwise, they will be divided between your children. Thus, the form is not useful if you have a favorite nephew to whom you want to leave your gold watch. The basic form does allow for one cash gift to a person or charity, but if you have two people in mind for that sort of generosity, you can’t use the form.

Filling out the form can be challenging. You shouldn’t add to or delete from the form--any words you scrawl on it will be disregarded. And you’ve got to be careful. The cash gift box, for instance, requires you to print the name of the recipient on one side of the box, state the amount of the gift in numbers and words on the other side of the box, and then sign in the box. Phew!

And if you don’t understand those instructions, you won’t like the next section, which gives you choices on the distribution of your “residuary estate”--your assets other than your personal and household items and any cash gift set aside.

In that section, you are required to write the words “not used” in the boxes that you do not select, and are specifically warned that if you sign in more than one box or fail to sign in any box, the property will be distributed as if you did not make a will. The form doesn’t say what will happen if you sign in one box but forget to write “not used” in the other boxes.

All this suggests how important it is that you take great care in using these forms. The frustrating part at the end of this process will be that you won’t know if you completed the form properly. In fact, no one will know that until after your death when the statutory will is submitted to the probate court.

It might be advisable to have a lawyer review the form after you complete it to tell you whether you did it properly. Realistically, however, it will be difficult to find a lawyer who will agree to spend only the few minutes it takes to review the completed form, since the fee probably will be nominal. Besides, some lawyers may want to explain why they think the statutory will is not right for you, and you probably don’t want to hear a sales pitch for the drafting of a new will to replace the statutory will. (Of course, depending on the circumstances, you may very well need one.)

There are, however, a few other ways you can have some review of your attempt to fill in the boxes. The Los Angeles County Bar Assn. has lawyers in the office on certain days for quick consultations on legal problems. You might want to make an appointment and have the lawyer review your completed form. Other bar associations may have similar programs.

Another possibility is to use the services of a prepaid legal service, if you belong to one.

Finally, you might call Telelawyer, a 900 telephone number service that provides basic legal advice over the phone. If you have access to a fax machine, you can fax in the completed form to Telelawyer, whose lawyers will review it and tell you if you completed the form properly. If you don’t have a fax machine, you can mail it in. All you pay for is the time you spend on the phone. The number is (900) 446-4529. The charge is $3 per minute.