Why Bother Writing a Will?
Although the thought of someone close to us passing away can be something of a morbid thought, there is a lot of preparation that needs to be carried out for when each of us passes away. One of the most important documents we create in relation to our passing is a Will, and is important for a number of different reasons.
Ensuring Your Possessions Are Distributed Accordingly
We all have possessions that we would like to pass to future generations, and preparing a Will is the best way to ensure this happens to your specifications. Not having a Will prepared can bring a plethora of problems, as there is no sure-fire way of determining who should receive what possessions. With no Will in place, it is likely that the law will decide as to how your estate will be distributed.
Inheritance Tax
In layman’s terms, inheritance tax is the tax you pay on your estate. It dictates the value of your estate once everything you owe has been paid. Preparing a Will ensure that you’re not paying too much inheritance tax, as there are people and organisations that can receive certain things without inheritance tax being charged. When your inheritance tax is in order, then it’s possible that you could leave more money to your loved ones, as opposed to paying it in tax.
Appoint a Legal Guardian for Minors
Preparing a Will is not all about the financial aspects of our lives, it also concerns those closest to us. There is nothing more precious to us than our children, and as such, we want to ensure they’re looked after should anything happen. Without a Will, it is likely that children who aren’t old enough to look after themselves will be placed into the care of the authorities, who will decide on their welfare moving forward. However, preparing a Will allows you to appoint your own guardian, so you can be safe in the knowledge that should anything ever happen, your children are going to be well looked after. It should be noted that the person appointed as a guardian would be responsible for the day-to-day care of the children, as well as their overall wellbeing.
Trust Funds for Children
While we want to ensure our loved ones are cared for once we’re gone, we also have to ensure that any money left will be used responsibly. This allows you to put stipulations as to when the fund can be accessed, and what terms are associated with the accessing of funds.
Funeral Arrangements
Arranging a funeral can be stressful or upsetting, which can be made worse when the person in charge is struggling to pay for certain aspects of the funeral. Preparing a Will not only gives your loved one’s quicker access to funds so that funeral arrangements can be taken care off, but you can also stipulate any arrangements you would like to put in place, this normally is in the form of a pre-paid funeral plan.
These are only a handful of reasons why writing a Will is a good idea. Overall, if you want to ensure your wishes are adhered to following your passing, then the preparation of a Will is something that you should be acting on as soon as possible.