Dear Mr. Premack: I had a cousin (Betty) suffering from MS. I helped take care of her since 2005. She never married and she had no children. About that time, she thought she was going to die and sent a letter to a cousin in California (Frank) asking him to take care of her sick brother. Her brother died, but she lived until June 2012. She left Frank $30,000 of life insurance and left me $3,300. Frank used that letter to clear out the house and change the locks and give everyt

Last week, reader “P.H.” said that he knew it was time to make his Will. He was leaning toward a do-it-yourself Will or an online Will, which he said was mostly DIY anyway. He asked if there were good reasons to pay for a lawyer’s help. Last week, I gave Reason #1 for hiring a lawyer to write your Will: it is less expensive to do-it-right than to do-it-yourself. The example was recent litigation over a Will written by a man named Ken, who tried to leave his house to his wife

Dear Mr. Premack: I am finally convinced that it is time to make a Will, just for my own peace of mind. I am thinking about writing it for myself, or maybe using an online service. Actually, one of the online services I checked is mostly do-it-yourself anyway. They ask how I want assets divided, and I submit the words for them to include in the Will. I know you are a lawyer and are biased toward telling me to hire a lawyer for this, and I’m willing to be persuaded. Why should