Will you or won't you: Your Last Will and Testament...
A little while I go I mentioned in a post that my wife and I were seeing our lawyer this week to have new Wills prepared. You can read it here if you like. So, true to my word my wife and I spent an hour or so with my lawyer discussing our options and how to best structure the document. It needed to take into account additional family members and potential changes in the future. We'll be reviewing and signing them off in about three weeks.
As part of the process we had to appoint an executor for our Will's. The executor does all the work once a person dies, sells property and assets and the like. It's a terrible job; I've done it and never want to do so again although I'm the executor of two Wills that I know of so I will have to. In addition to those two I am my wife's executor and she is mine, however if we were to both die together, or when the last one of us dies, someone else will need to do it. We decided to give our executor a payment of $10,000 out of our estate for doing the job which should pay for their expenses and the like. It won't pay for the heartache and headaches the job will bring however we wanted to assist the executor where possible. image source
I won't go into the nuts and bolts of the whole process or indeed what our Wills entail however I can't impress enough upon people, the importance of having a Will and having it structured correctly. It's a subject that most don't want to acknowledge or discuss, death I mean, however it happens to everyone and in my opinion a person is better off to have it prepared than leave families to struggle after a death through the person not having their affairs in order.
If you have not arranged a Will document for yourself you should investigate it. Many people don't believe they have enough things of value to warrant having one however it's more than just a document leaving instructions on dispersing assets. It can contain valuable information in respect of funeral instructions and of course in relation to children. It is a document of great importance. Is it time to consider yours?
[- The best way to increase your self esteem is to increase someone else’s -]
This is something my partner and I really have to do. With six children that need to be cared for in the event of us both passing it is something that we should have done a long time ago. Our dilemma is that four of our children have special needs. There is a strong possibility that they will need care well into their adult lives. So who do we ask to take on such a huge responsibility? No one in our family is in a position to do so. So we are left to ask friends to take on a life changing task. I just don’t know how to ask this of someone.
This is a complicated issue for you and I can understand how you maybe feeling uncertain. What you can do is ensure something is in place at least to bequest your estate to them in the advent of your passing. It’s a hard one I guess though, certainly as far as custody and on-going care goes. I don’t envy you.
Thanks for sharing. Maybe my post will prompt you to start investigating some options?
It definitely has,
I’ve put it of for far to long already.
Thanks
I don't think I'll be considering that in the next 30 yrs, I'm not even 25 yet. I do hope my Dad has one, though. Do you think it's cool to ask him if he has a will drawn up?
I think it’s a topic that needs to be dicussed. There’s probably a right and wrong way to do so though depending on the people involved.
Unfortunately people don’t just die of old age so a Will is relevant regardless of age. Still, it’s up to the individual I suppose and up to the family to deal with the ramifications of the deceased not having one.
There’s always choices.
My husband and I made a will just before we were married 5 years ago. Last year we changed our wills because of new insights. My tip, therefore, is to check every so many years whether everything that is in the will is still up-to-date or whether it needs to be adjusted.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. I agree completely. People work so hard to amass wealth, put so much effort into acquiring things and yet many don’t give an hour if their time to prepare a will. Makes no sense to me.
Not a topic I read a lot about. Being truthful I have absolutely put off doing something similar, not knowing enough about it I'm sure is one of the many reasons.
All food for thought and worth considering.
Many ignore this aspect of their life. I’ve been involved in a few scenarios that have not ended well for the deceased and the families tonknow better than to die without a Will.
We all die, it’s a fact of life. I’m not one to shy away from it hence my ability to openly talk about the topic. Maybe when I’m dead someone will come across my post on the blockchain and get some value from it. :)
Well you have me thinking about it so you are succeeding in your goal.
What good is it going through life picking up wisdom and not sharing it.
I’m not some ancient dude but am older than you. I certainly don’t plan to die in the next few weeks or anything but I’m old enough to know that being prepared is better than not being prepared.
yeah.. this is a problem and unfortunately i'm guilty of neglecting it...
I guess the assumption is made that if something were to happen to me that my wife would be my sole beneficary - i have entered that information as a binding nomination with my super at least (with the insurance policy, this becomes my biggest asset), but no doubt it's time to formalise the rest of it at some stage in the near future....
That’s an assumption many make but it may not be the case. If there are others who may lay claim to your estate then it could end up in long and costly legal proceedings. Your Super should be ok I guess but as for the rest I’m not so sure.
The best bet is to go and see your lawyer and ask some questions. They should consult initially at no cost to you.