CPNC Home Care Blog

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 don’t 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, they’ll have the peace of mind that a will provides, and you’ll be spared haggling over any details after they die.

Getting Life InsuranceAppoint an Executor – this is the person who will administer the estate, so make sure it’s 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 you’ll want to ensure that the property they’re 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).

Back To Blog Home Archives