What is needed other than a will to prepare mine and my wife's estates?

Full question:

I went to a lawyer when I lived in Montana during 2004 and made a will and my wife made one too. There has been some changes in our lives, mostly because all our children are over 18 now and we live in another state. We also have a trustee designated within the will. We now live in Washington state. I was planning on making a new will, a living trust and a power of attorney with USlegalforms.com My questions are: 1. Do I need to make another will or is the outdated one from Montana still good even though I live in Washington state now? 2.If I decide to make another will, can my wife be on my will or should she make another one too? 3. Will these wills be legal if I do not go through a lawyer and just have 2 witnesses and the will notarized? 4. Is it ok to store the will at our home or do I need to store it at the county or state office of records? 5. If I do not have a power of attorney, will my legal affairs be much more complicated when I am not coherent enough to make decisions? 6. Do I need to get all of our banking, car registrations, utility bills, home, or any other important paper work in both of our names or when one of us drops dead will the other person automatically take over everything without a lot of legal hassel. 7.We plan on staying here at this home until we conk out. But God may have plans we do not know about.I am in good health and 58 and my wife is in good health and 55. We just want to be ready to die and make the other persons job easy during grief or the trustee job easier if we both go see Jesus together. 8. Is Washington a shared property state?

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Washington

Answer:

It is a personal choice whether you and your wife make a will together or make separate wills, depending mainly on the similarity of your final wishes. A will is valid as a will in Washington if valid under the laws of the state or country where the testator was at the time of execution.While not necessary, it is recommended to update your will when moving to a new state. You may call the local probate court to see if the will may be filed there. While not required, some courts allow the filing of a will. A will in Washington is valid if drafted without an attorney, as long as properly signed and witnessed, and should also be notarized.

The following is a WA statute:

RCW 11.12.020

Requisites of wills — Foreign wills.

(1) Every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or by some other person under the testator's direction in the testator's presence, and shall be attested by two or more competent witnesses, by subscribing their names to the will, or by signing an affidavit that complies with RCW 11.20.020(2), while in the presence of the testator and at the testator's direction or request: PROVIDED, That a last will and testament, executed in the mode prescribed by the law of the place where executed or of the testator's domicile, either at the time of the will's execution or at the time of the testator's death, shall be deemed to be legally executed, and shall be of the same force and effect as if executed in the mode prescribed by the laws of this state.

(2) This section shall be applied to all wills, whenever executed, including those subject to pending probate proceedings.

A power of attorney is recommended to reduce complications when a person is incapacitated. Without a power of attorney, banking, taxes, and other legal matters may be greatly complicated. Bill payments and other financial matters in the disabled person's name may require a power of attorney to manage after disability, they won't necessarily automatically be transferred to another individual or converted to a separate from a joint account unless the entity's terms provide for such.

Washington is a so-called "equitable distribution" state. This means that the division of property and debts between the divorcing parties should be fair and equitable, but not necessarily equal. The court has wide discretion in equitably distributing property.