First story, before I graduated from law school a friend's father died....and he had no will. The wife inherited everything because the children signed their shares to her. Eighty days after the father died, the mother died. She had a will and named one of the children as the executrix. She also stated in the will which lawyer was to represent her estate. Long story short...the daughter and the lawyer probated the father's estate....and took maximum fees for it...then they probated the mother's estate and took maximum fees for it. I got involved because neither the executrix or the attorney for the estate would talk to the other four children. It was my first year practicing, the other four children hired me to straighten things out. The executrix had to pay back money, the attorney had to pay back money, and the attorney was disbarred. And all of it could have been avoided with proper planning. So decide what you want to do....and then find a good, ethical attorney in your state and commit your decisions to paper.