The Importance Of Having A Will
April 5th, 2017
Your loved ones have spent their entire lives working hard to earn what they have – their home, a car, a bank account – but if they dont express how their estate, property, possessions and money are distributed after their death, the state will get to decide. Without a Last Will and Testament, not only will dying wishes be denied, but precious heirlooms could be sold at auctions, and thus lost by the family forever. By convincing your elderly parents to take the following steps, theyll have the peace of mind that a will provides, and youll be spared haggling over any details after they die.
Appoint an Executor – this is the person who will administer the estate, so make sure its someone who the family trusts to handle financial matters prudently.
Appoint an Alternative Executor – the 2nd in command, so to speak, should the primary Executor be unable or unwilling to act. Again, it should be someone trustworthy.
List All Assets – be sure to carefully make a list of all property, possessions, and investments, avoiding discrepancies, ambiguities or errors.
List Beneficiaries – because youll want to ensure that the property theyre leaving behind gets left to the correct people, and divided properly.
Include End-of-Life Provisions – aka a Living Will, which provides instructions on what kind of end-of-life treatments or situations a person is willing to endure. Finally, since hiring a lawyer to draft a will can be expensive, you may want to consider some of the do-it-yourself services available on line, which use simple step-by-step questions to help you create the needed document(s).