Dear Liz : I have less than $5,000 in my savings account, a 12-year-old car and a mortgage with a $200,000 balance. I am 67 and can’t decide whether to make a will. I live alone and have no children. I have three siblings, but am only close to one. I hate to spend money on an attorney when I can use that money to cover funeral expenses. I’m leery of using an online will service. Can you recommend an inexpensive way to get my affairs in order?

A: Anyone who can afford to pay for estate planning help probably should. This is a complicated area, and it’s easy to make mistakes that can make settling your estate unnecessarily costly or difficult.

If you can’t afford to pay for help, though, there are low-cost and free options you can explore.

Start by creating an advanced directive, whic

See Full Page