All people of age should have a will
THREE days before New Zealand’s latest community outbreak of Covid19 became known Pam Corkery (remember her?) spoke on RNZ National about Victoria, as cases surged there.
She quoted an emergency physician, married to another emergency physician, who’d said, ‘‘We’ve made our wills, because we have young children.’’
One would hope so. As emergency physicians in Victoria they’re at risk of exposure to high doses of the Covid19 virus (even the best personal protective equipment comes with no guarantee), and evidence suggests that high doses of virus are more likely than low doses to cause severe illness, sometimes death, even in young adults.
A worrying implication of that comment, though, is that this couple, presumably of above average intelligence, hadn’t previously made wills.
The death intestate of even a single, childless person, with no apparent assets, can cause prolonged extra problems for those who must deal with the settling of the dead person’s estate, often while crippled by grief.
And there may turn out to be significant unexpected assets, such as an insurance payout from an employmentlinked superannuation policy (Civis knows of that happening) or, in the case of motor vehicle accidents, from a car rental agreement.
If a person or couple has children a will’s even more essential, especially in specifying (after ensuring they’re willing to take on that duty) who will become guardian(s) and care for the children in the case of death of the parent or parents.
Failure to do this has, on occasion, led to such matters being disputed, and decided, not always wisely or as a dead parent or parents and family might have wished, by the Family Court. So pregnancy is a time which should trigger questions from those, such as doctor and midwife, caring for a pregnant mother (and, Civis suggests, any friend who happens to be talking to them) to check whether the mother and father have made wills.
Everyone, including the childless, should make a will when they turn
18. Thanks to a lawyer father, Civis did so on turning 21, the ‘‘coming of age’’ of those days. They should make a new one on marriage (marriage makes a previous will invalid, unless made in contemplation of the marriage), and review it regularly, and as circumstances change.
Wills can be simple (‘‘All to my wife’’ has been granted probate) but a lawyer or the Public Trust can help with drafting one. There’s even provision, through the Public Trust website, for drafting a will online — it still must be printed, signed and witnessed, though.
Many young people, with a subconscious feeling that they’re ‘‘bulletproof’’, don’t even think about making a will. Others just don’t get around to doing so. But everyone of age who hasn’t done so should do it now. Not because of the risk of dying from Covid19 (though even the young can die from it) but because it’s irresponsible, at any time, not to.
‘‘To every man upon this earth/ Death cometh soon or late’’. Allowing for 1842 usage, that applies to everyone. It’s as true now as when it was written — and ‘‘soon’’ can take us by surprise.
Today would have been election day, if every parliamentary political party except Labour and the Greens hadn’t insisted, straightfaced, despite extensive use of social and mass media, that doorknocking and public meetings were essential for a ‘‘fair’’ election (but who can guarantee a Covidfree campaign period?).
The delay gives the National Party a special advantage.
If it realises how offputting its smirking, gratuitously aggressive, conspiracytheorypromoting leader is to many (now she’s undermining the country’s Covidfighting plan, cynically, like Winston Peters, decrying Level 2 precautions for the South Island) there’s still time to find yet another leader.
A suggestion: what about Shane Reti? Sane, intelligent, constructive rather than aggressive: he could be an effective leader for an important political party.