The One Thing You Have to Have
I know that this is the time of celebrating and looking forward and I don’t want to be a downer. But do you have a will? Because if you don’t then put it in your New Year’s Resolutions List.
If you don’t have a will because you don’t think you need one, you are wrong. Everyone who has some assets and/or kids needs to have a will. No one expects bad things to happen but they do, they happen to neighbours and friends and they could happen to you. And you don’t want to make the situation worse by not leaving clear instructions (like Michael Jackson did to his kids).
People who are in mourning are not good decision-makers and you never know what strange power plays will be engaged upon your death. So make it clear – who are the kids going to? Who controls the money? (is it the same person?) Do the kids have to stay in the city? Do grandparents/relatives have regular access? Is there a way to pay for education? Check out this article that any will that deals with guardianship should have in it.
When you set up a will there are lots of strange questions that you will have to deal with. Like who gets decide to pull the plug and even more detailed scenarios that are strange and unlikely and uncomfortable to think about. In fact the whole process is a bit uncomfortable and I understand why people avoid it. Luckily, my husband has to have everything in his life (and death) to be organized and he didn’t sleep for weeks until our wills were re-drawn after Jenna was born. And now we have the fabulously-named Death Binder hiding somewhere in the office. (Maybe you fall into the category of people who drew up a will after baby number one arrived but haven’t re-visited it since).
We used a lawyer because we felt more comfortable dealing with issues with someone who knows what is generally acceptable and how to word things. If you don’t have a lawyer ask around or check here for how to find a family lawyer. If you don’t want to use a lawyer then there are kits but they are victims of their own simplification.
And while we are on uncomfortable topics – do you have life insurance? You have to have life insurance too. Our friend’s husband died suddenly last year and the insurance had lapsed. Now she is in a very difficult position, and has to deal with a lot of financial problems as well as tremendous grief. Don’t let that happen to you…
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