Where there’s a will, there’s a way
You’re never too young to start thinking about what happens to your loved ones and property after your death, writes
Hypothetically speaking, if I were to get hit by a bus tomorrow, dead me doesn’t have any rights when it comes to my stuff.
That’s because I don’t have a will. I have a husband, a child and a house, but no will. And there’s something wrong with that statement.
If there’s one conversation that makes me realise that I’m not getting any younger, it’s this one. I don’t know about you, but I generally associate the concept of a will with old people, or at least people who have a lot of stuff to divvy up when they die.
I’ve got to be honest, while I’m on the elderly side of 30, I don’t have much stuff, so I’ve never really thought about what will happen to it when I die. But as my son approaches his second birthday, I’ve realised that sorting out my will is less about worrying when I might die, and more about making sure he’s OK whenever it happens while maintaining my voice even when I’m not here to use it.
Simply put, a will is a legal document that states exactly what you want to happen with your life after you’ve lost it.
Once it has been signed, it can’t be changed unless you change it yourself (which obviously you can’t do once you die). You can decide how your funeral’s going to be staged. You can decide how your estate will be split and who will get what (and if you want to leave it all to charity, so be it).
Most importantly, you can decide who will look after your children and how some parts of their lives will play out when you’re gone.
If you don’t have a will, you lose your voice and the rights you had when you were alive.
The law will decide how your estate will get divided and who looks after your children – and what a lawyer decides might not be what you would have wanted. That’s actually quite scary. Not only might I not be here to watch my son grow up, he might also not grow up with the people I want him to or the way I want him to.
I’ve been looking at the Public Trust website for some guidance.
This Government-appointed corporation draws up about 6600 wills every year, so they know their stuff. Because wills are legal documents and therefore need to be drawn up by a lawyer, there is some cost associated with it, but $199 for a standard will (or $345 for a couple) is pretty reasonable.
If you’re also wondering if you need to draw up a will or update your existing one, now is as good a time as any.
Don’t be afraid to ask around for advice on Neighbourly either; a local lawyer might be able to help you organise your will to give you peace of mind.