Here’s when to put a will in place

By Patricia Nugent

We are in prime planning season for summer vacations. While you’re checking flights and booking hotels, now would also be the time to make sure your last wishes are in order. Do you have a will and is it up to date?

Drafting a will takes a few weeks and isn’t a process that can be done on the fly. I caught up with local estate planning attorney Margaret T. Karl for insights.

“This happens often this time of year,” she says. “Someone will call and want a will right away before they leave for vacation the next day. The process doesn’t move that quickly.”

Here’s what happens:

• First, you sit down with Margie, giving her your basic information and contact information for those you’d like to be your executor or power of attorney, as well as your beneficiaries (the people you select to receive your assets when you pass away).
• Then, she will draft a summary of the meeting, including the details to be included in your will and send it to you for approval.
• After that, you meet with Margie again. She will present the will and you sign it, making it a legal document. Then you take your will home and Margie’s office keeps a copy.

“I recommend that my clients inform their children where they will store the will, to save time in the event it’s needed,” she adds.

The whole process takes a few weeks, including two half-hour visits, and the cost is a couple hundred dollars for the average will.

Margaret T. Karl, Attorney at Law, is located at 25800 North Depot Street, Suite 102, in Olmsted Falls. Margie offers public speaking services to a diverse range of audiences, from senior centers to community events, and also provides CEUs for professional groups. Call 440-782-5051 or visit OlmstedOhioLaw.com.