The question of why an individual should make a Will has been asked time and time again, though to address the issue, let’s take a look at who should make a will and why. It really isn’t a question of age as much as people think it is, because even those young people starting families, and whose thoughts on death are distant have a responsibility to those around them to protect their interests in the event of the unforeseen happening.
Explaining the function of a Will
When you die, as we all will, it’s too late to come back and sort things out. None of us knows when that will happen, though the preparation of a Will isn’t morbid at any age. It is part of the necessary planning of your life and what you wish to happen to all those possessions should you die. The impact that the Will makes on those left behind leaves no room for questions and doubts in the minds of those you love about what you intended, though the lack of a Will often breaks families apart, and creates rifts that need not otherwise be there.
The elements that come into play when making a Will cover the disposal of these items:
*Money
*Personal belongings
*Property
On the money front, think about your savings and who you would wish them to go to. Here, putting aside an amount for the kids or giving to charities of your choice, you are given a wonderful opportunity to give what remains of your wealth to someone you love, or something you feel passionately about. Look at all case scenarios, and try and work out the best benefit for all those you love. Who would be the most responsible ? Who would use that money wisely ? Who would it benefit ? Money in cold hard cash form after someone has died can cause so many disagreements, though if thought out and discussed, can help those that you leave behind to get on with their lives in the knowledge that you cared enough to make provisions for the family to continue without you.
There will always be funeral costs to bear, and these will be taken from your estate as well as legal costs, before division of what is left. Here, taking out an insurance to cover funeral costs can also work well in conjunction with a Will, since this gives you the opportunity to make choices for your own funeral, and save those you love from hard decisions.
Personal belongings are a precious thing to you, and there may be items of little significance to others that are important to you. By putting these particular items into a Will you can leave them to people that you know will appreciate them. What this does is show them after you have gone that you cared sufficiently to think of them, and from the smallest brooch right up to perhaps the written work of a lifetime that meant little to those around you, each item can have a chosen recipient that cares for those little reminders about who you were.
Property really does matter. The home that you live in is perhaps jointly owned, though by talking with a lawyer about what you would like done with your half of the home, you may save that family home. Most people Will the family home to their partner, though with property, a Will can go further than that. Here, you can stipulate what you want done with your half of the home in the event of the deaths of both you and your partner. Would you rather the state made those choices ? By creating a Will, what you are doing is covering all events and not leaving the future to chance, thus protecting what little remains of your accumulation of a lifetime, and making a difference to those people around you that made a difference to your life.
Wills can be changed. It is never too late to add what is known as a Codicil or addition to a Will so that if circumstances change, the Will can be altered to take those changes into consideration. If you look at the evolution of your lifetime, and the changes of status and circumstance, so a Will can evolve and be kept up to date so that all those around you are catered for.
It isn’t a legal obligation to have a Will. It is a moral obligation, and a human being’s way to keep their house in order, not so much from a selfish viewpoint, but from the viewpoint of caring sufficiently about those you leave behind, at any age, in the event of death the child that has lost their mother or father, the husband that has lost his wife, or wife that sits alone staring at the empty chair of her husband. These are the people that matter, not just in life, but in death too.