If something were to happen to me...

punnkdork

Yesterday I had a breast u/s for a lump that concerned my doctor. I'm fine but in the 20 minutes it took to confirm the results I started thinking about wills and/or getting my affairs in order. At the moment, I have nothing prepared.

So, I am curious how you've handled this? Obviously, I need to get some sort of standard will put together and I assume I hire a lawyer to do this. Or is possible to write a valid will without a lawyer?

How do I handle the pregnancy? I know after the baby is born I can update my will to include him/her. However, what if something were to happen to me while still pregnant and the baby survived? I assume, this would still be considered a birth event but it seems like the baby should be addressed before giving birth and not after the fact.

How would custody be handled? The father is in and out of the picture at the moment and works on the road five days a week. I'm not saying that the father wouldnt step up and take care of the baby but in the event that should happen - could I assign a guardian, like my mother or sister? Do I need his permission to do this?

I own my home, a vehicle, have some stock and a 401k so we are not talking about a lot of assets but I would want those assigned to the child, not the father. Is it possible to assign the child as the sole beneficiary with some sort of guadarian to overlook the account - i.e. my mother (primary)/sister (secondary)?

I realize I need to seek legal advice on this issue but I was hoping that some of you might have gone through this process already and could offer some advice. I'm sure there are points of interest I havent considered or some pre-legwork I may need to do before consulting a lawyer.

So thoughts, anyone?