My husband [oh no we’re not married, but it’s easier to call him that – boyfriend sounds hilarious! – for all intensive purposes, he IS my husband] and I have had a will for many years and have ensured it is general enough to stand the test of time and not require constant updating. I CANNOT believe how many people don’t have one and don’t want to talk about it. OMG people!
Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and am more in tune, but I’ve been hearing story after story of families torn apart because of the outcome of a will of a close family member. Generally there is large sums of money involved which makes it more heart breaking, especially for those that would use it for good but there’s a lesson here for all of us to take action!
I really believe in principles and think each and every human being has something to leave to the people they care about. It might be $100 or $1 million. It might be a special photograph or piece of real estate or jewellery. That doesn’t matter. It is the principle that something means something to a person and they want another to have it. Whether it will make their life easier or even enable the person left behind to have some comfort and closure with a piece of this special person – this should be straight forward. It’s not.
I’m not a lawyer, nor do I aspire to be one, but common sense does NOT always prevail and this is frustrating, but a fact!
My grandfather – an amazing man who always had a twinkle in his eye – died suddenly at 65 and my mother never really got to say goodbye. His wife wasn’t close to the family so we still don’t know to this day if he had a will or not. The fact is, my mother wasn’t told a thing about his estate and has nothing tangible to remember him by which is heartbreaking especially being the oldest child of 4. That is so sad and makes closure difficult.
A family friend (brief history – 1st wife – had a child together, 2nd wife – messy separation, 3rd current partner – happy living life to the fullest) died very suddenly and happened to be a very wealthy man. His 2nd wife he was separated from, but not divorced, got everything. His child and current partner got nothing. He would have rolled over in his grave if he knew this. There’s a big lesson here in keeping your house in order at all times, especially if your circumstances change!
Getting a will drawn up in the internet age is simple, not expensive and a necessity in my opinion so that’s no excuse. If you have children you MUST have a will to ensure they are looked after (no matter what the size of your estate is). If you don’t have children, you still must have a will so that anything you have can go to the special people in your life that you care about. This is a small thing you can take action on now and stop the voice in your head that keeps telling you to get this sorted! Just do it.
The choice is of course yours, but in this world of the over-r-whelm when you often feel as though you’re drowning in your TO DO list, having a will can give you some peace and comfort. What are you waiting for??
