By Pam Walatka

I said, “I’m going to try to do that ‘WillMaker’ thing today. I’m going to have to ask you some questions.”

He said, “If I’m dead, you get it.”

I said, “There are some end-of-life questions.”

He said, “Use my body parts in an Indy 500 car.”

“Quicken WillMaker Plus: Estate Planning Essentials, 2006 Edition” (Nolo Press, 2005) is a book with CD that claims it can “protect your family, quickly and easily.”

The book has been sitting on my desk for exactly a month. I know I can do this. I know I should do this. Except for a few scribbled pages, I am intestate.

Those of you who have had your affairs in order for decades may wonder how someone could avoid doing this. Believe me, it’s easy.

A month ago, I read the first chapter and came to the conclusion that the book is meant as a reference manual for the CD. You don’t have to read the whole book. I’ve been meaning to put the CD in the machine.

OK, today I am going to do it. I have had my lunch and now it is 12:48 p.m. Here goes …

Now it is 4:37 p.m. I have a will. I also have an advance health-care directive, a durable power of attorney for financial management and an 18-page document with information for caregivers and survivors.

The designers of the software were smart to put the hard stuff first; they have you fill out your health directive first, then tons of information about your accounts, passwords and hiding places. By the time you get to the will, you are coasting downhill.

The WillMaker program also offers software for setting up a living trust instead of a will; I started making a trust but chickened out - it seemed like a trust would make too many things more complicated. The “will” option is much simpler. I can always set up a trust later. At least now I have recorded the information that my loved ones will need in the event of my untimely demise.

I could have agonized for months over some of the decisions,

but I was not going for perfection - I was going for completion. I have the rest of my life to fix my mistakes.

This is one of the best pieces of software I have ever used. Everything worked. Some of the decisions are hard, but the software is not. It’s obvious that Quicken developers user-tested the software extensively and worked hard to help the user. It’s intuitive.

When you enter the name of a person or institution, the program saves all the associated information; you never have to type the same stuff twice. It’s easy to go back and make changes, then return to where you were. When I finished, the program gave me the option of duplicating my files for my husband; all he has to do is personalize his health-care

directives.

If you don’t have a will (or trust), a health-care directive or consolidated information for your survivors - and you don’t mind sitting at your computer - you really should take the time to do this. Your survivors deserve it.

“WillMaker” is easy, and the book with CD is available at the public library.

Where there’s a way, there’s a will.