When you are young and just starting out, you don’t think too much about the need for family lawyers. They spend most of their time working out ways to enjoy life and have more fun, about their career choices and how long it will be before they get their dream job. In fact, very little time is spent thinking about worst case scenarios or the end of life. That is why so many young people do not even think to make a Will.
However, if the unthinkable should happen – and statistics show that it happens more often than we would like to believe – your assets, be they ever so few, would not be likely to go to your loved ones unless you have a Will.
Here are 4 reasons to act responsibly by making a Will.
- A Will is a legal document in which you can express your intentions as to the distribution of any assets you have – and not all young people are asset poor. What about your car? Who would you like to have that if you were no longer around?
- Your estate must have something done with it. If you have no Will, the cost, difficulties and delays for your family in administering the estate – assets – are going to escalate, causing them a lot of stress and headache on top of the grief they are experiencing already. So be kind to your family and make things easier for them.
- A Will gives you the chance to provide for your family, whether that is your parents, brothers or sisters, or a young wife and children. You would want to be the kind of person who takes their responsibilities seriously and provides for those who are nearest and dearest, at least to the extent that you are able.
- When there is a Will there can be little dispute over how your assets are distributed. Of course, certain people such as children, can dispute it, if they feel they’ve been unfairly treated, but generally speaking your intentions are carried out the way you want them to be.
How can you be sure? In your Will you have to appoint an Executor who will work to see that your assets are distributed to your directions. He or she will also be responsible for paying your debts out of your assets, which will be done before anything else. Only when the debts have been settled will your heirs get anything left over.
An Executor can be anyone you choose who is of age. It can be a family member, trusted friend, or even the solicitor who draws the Will up. Once you have made a Will you can have peace of mind that your family will indeed, get any asset that you have left.