What To Expect When You Get a Mama Bear Will

So, you’re considering making a will through Mama Bear’s online will-maker, but maybe you’ve got a few questions like:

• What will I get?
• What is the form process like?
• What’s inside the will?

That’s fair. You’re paying a nice chunk of change for this document, so you want to know what you’re getting.

When you create your will with Mama Bear, their will-maker takes you through seven steps:

1. Get Started
2. Will and Testament
3. Charitable Giving
4. Health Care
5. Financial
6. Sign Documents
7. Print and Download

Let’s go through them one by one so you can be confident about an online will with Mama Bear.

Step 1: Get Started

First things first, you’ll put your info in. Mama Bear will autofill your name (since you already gave it to them when you purchased), but you’ll need to add your spouse’s name if you’re married—and where you live so the will-maker can customize your will to your state’s laws.

Step 2: Last Will and Testament

In Step 2, you choose your beneficiaries, give the will-maker info about any kids you have (and note whether you want it to make a testamentary trust), name your executor, and decide how you want to divvy up your estate.

Children

You’ll be asked if you have any children. If you answer yes, you’ll fill in their full name(s) and mark down whether they’re a minor.

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If your kids are still minors, next you’ll choose who will serve as their guardian if both parents pass away by filling in the potential guardian’s full name. And you’ll have the option to add an alternate guardian in case your first choice is unable to carry out their duties.

Personal Representative

You’ll also choose your executor or personal representative. This is the person who will make sure what you’ve planned in your will actually happens when the time comes.

Property and People

Here we get to the meat and potatoes of your will (not literal meat and potatoes—unless you plan to leave your larder as a special gift to someone).

First up, special gifts. Before you divide your estate among your beneficiaries, you have a chance to designate special gifts (like a classic car or piece of jewelry) to specific people.

After that, when it comes to dividing up your estate, the will-maker gives you these options:

• Leave everything to your spouse.
• Leave equal shares to your children.
• Give specific percentages to individuals and/or charities.

If you choose to leave it all to your spouse, you then make a few more decisions:

• If your spouse dies before you, you have the option to leave it all to your kid(s) or choose other beneficiaries and divide it by percentage.
• If you choose your child and they’re a minor, you have the option to make a testamentary trust, choose the age when they can inherit, and decide on a manager of the estate until the kid is of age.

Step 3: Charitable Giving

It feels good to give! But don’t worry, Mama Bear’s will-maker won’t push specific sponsored charities on you like some free online wills out there.

If you’re making a charitable gift, the will-maker gives you these options:

• Give a percentage.
• Give a specific dollar amount.
• Treat the charity as an equal child.

Step 4: Health Care

The next two steps create your powers of attorney—super important tools essential to your estate plan. These are legal documents separate from your will that allow you to appoint someone to make decisions for you in case you’re unable to.

Here you have the option to choose your spouse or someone else to make health care decisions for you if you can’t. This is called a health care power of attorney. After naming your first choice, you’ll pick a second agent who can either share duties with the first or serve as an alternate.

You can also state your wishes to be an organ donor at this step.

Step 5: Financial

In Step 5, you make your financial power of attorney. Similar to the health care power of attorney, this legal document specifies who you want to act in your place to make money decisions if you become unable to.

The will-maker gives you the option to choose your spouse or someone else to be your financial agent in case you can’t make decisions (like if you’re in a coma). Then, pick a backup person or someone who can share financial duties with the primary agent. You also get to choose whether you want the financial power of attorney to be effective immediately or only if you are incapacitated.

Steps 6 and 7: Signing and Downloading

You’re almost there! Your final steps in the Mama Bear Legal Forms will-maker are signing and downloading your will.

First, you can decide what county your will is to be signed in—or let the notary fill that in later. Then, the will-maker does its magic! Taking all the information you’ve provided, it makes you a legally binding last will and testament, customized to the laws of your state and your wishes. Now all you have to do is sign it and get it notarized.

At this point, you’re all done with Mama Bear—unless you want to go back and change something (and you have six months to do that for free). You should keep a hard copy as well as a digital copy of your will, so go ahead and print your legal last will and testament. But you’re not quite done—you have one last important step.

Get Your Will Notarized

Your will is made, but you haven’t signed it yet—and don’t! You need to find a notary first. To be sure it holds up in court and has legal force, you’ll need a notary to oversee the signing and witnessing of your will. The notary will watch to make sure you and your witnesses sign it correctly, and then they’ll notarize it.

Start Your Will Today

Now that you know what to expect when you get an online will through Mama Bear, it’s time to take the next step. A will is an important part of caring for your family. Think of it as your final “I love you.”