1) want the state to decide what will become of her assets after she dies
2) want the state deciding who will look after her children, should she die
3) want her loved ones to agonize about what to do should she reach vegetative state
needs some sort of a will.
A simple will can achieve objective #1.
A simple will with a guardianship provision can also achieve objective #2.
An advance health care directive, otherwise known as a living will, can achieve objective #3 and can stand alone or as part of the simple will. This is the document that Terri Schiavo lacked, and its absence enabled her husband and parents to litigate against each other for years, arguing about whether to remove her feeding tube. With a living will in place, her wishes would have been clear, and much of that time, expense, and anguish would have been avoided.
I don't recommend doing this job via Google. Pay a bit of money and feel better about the legitimacy and legality of the documents you've created:
http://www.amazon.com/Quicken-Willmaker-Plus-2009-Essentials/dp/141330902X
So do you recommend this type of software for coming up with a will and advance health care directive? The Fella and I are starting to think about our "official paperwork" (covering a lot of things, actually) and while he's already got a will, I don't and I have lots of questions. I'd also be interested in any advice you may have for gay couples living in DC. What, if any, financial/tax differences are there between a marriage and a domestic partnership?
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