Why do you need a will? How could you live without one would be a better question!
Ask yourself a few simple questions:
1. What will happen to your children / pets after you are dead?
2. What will happen to your house and it’s contents or your business after your dead?
3. What will happen to your body after you are dead?
If you are not bothered by any of the above – then perhaps a will won’t matter to you. But what about this?
1. What would you prefer – to live yoru life tied to a life support machine or to die in peace?
Still not bothered? I didn’t think so…
So why write a will?
Well, most people assume that a will is only about material possessions and money – but it isn’t, it’s about all kinds of provisions such as who will care for your children after you are gone, and what happens to your pets. These things are important to most of us, and so this is the reason a will is essential.
Provisions like these need thinking about and often need changing as circumstances in life alter – but altering a will takes minutes of your time and when weight against what could happen then these minutes are very valuable. For example: would you really want your daughter’s or son’s future determined by the state? Or your favourite pet simply put to sleep because no other provision was made?
Added to that, making a will ensures that your death isn’t followed by long legal battles and ensures a quick transfer of funds to those you care about and the dissolution of your estate in an orderly manner. Probate can take time, sometimes even with a will it can take at least a year to sell property and dissolve the estate to everyone’s satisfaction – but without a will it takes longer. With the rising cost in legal bills, having no will may very well mean that your relatives might have no money at the end of it as well!
Living wills are essential if you are worried about getting into serious health problems in later life, or if you are engaged in high risk sports. Many of us worry about lingering, and as the laws are beginning to change on euthanasia, you may well want to stipulate how and when your passing could be eased.
And if you aren’t worried about living, then don’t forget you can also put stipulations in it about your funeral arrangements, a horse and carriage or a burrial at sea, or perhaps cyrogenic suspension, or ejection into space! Who knows! Though one word of caution… do make sure you have left financial provision for such an act!
Wills are not expensive to do, and to be frank, they are easier to do when you are not about to die.
Wills are very adaptable as you age to fit all changes in circumstances and are easy to amend and alter as you go. So there really is no excuse not to have one!