It may seem a little premature, morbid even to think of processing a will when you are, say under 50. When in my early twenties I always pictured elderly people writing wills – people who knew they would not have much longer to live. People who wanted to ensure their assets went to family members. Let’s be honest, in films (I know I know), people were always pictured on their deathbeds when writing wills.
Once we had children, my view on wills completely changed. I was aghast to read that we had to note in a will exactly who we would like to care for our children in case of sudden death. Surely they would be given to our next of kin I naively believed – how wrong I was! You see, in the event of death some parents would not consent for their children to be cared for or even in contact with family members for various reasons.
A will gives you the opportunity to have a clear say in who has guardianship rights over your child and who you will sign your assets over to. It allows you to set up trust funds/accounts for your children. Wills are affordable and can be easily amended at a cost if circumstances change.
We processed our will early this year after at least a year of discussing it and never taking it further. It is funny that we can allow every day issues to cloud over those things which are in a sense high priority. We first spoke to a friend who has years of knowledge under his belt and researched organisations on the Internet.
The information required in a will is rather extensive and me being me wanted to speed through the process. My husband reminded me there was no need to panic – that we had actually sat on this for a year. Once we have decided to move forward with a plan I tend to make them my projects.
Although many of us would rather not think about death, putting measures in place is both practical and essential. Burying your head in the sand will not bring results. Why complicate matters when you are in the position to do something today?
So whether you have children or not, do think about writing a will if you have not already done so.
How important is writing a will to you?
What influenced you to write a will?
organisedlady 
I’ve not yet made a will, but it’ on my list of things to accomplish. Shortly after my divorce I made sure to change the beneficiary on my investment accounts. My parents are 70 and 75 and they still don’t have a will in place, and it’s a topic they don’t like to bring up.
LikeLike
The older you become, the more sensitive discussing wills becomes. Wills ensure your assets are distributed appropriately with no delays.
LikeLike
I’ve had a will for years, before marrying my husband, then we both had wills, and now that he is gone I have a will that fairly distributes my assets not only to my blood relatives but to his children, which is only fair. You can’t just write a will and forget about it either. Your life circumstances change and you’ve got to revise your will accordingly.
LikeLike
Jeannette – it is only fair to include your husband’s children.
LikeLike
I was in the military, and they made sure we had a will for obvious reasons.
The sad part about it, is how many times I had to amend it. People who were in it, are now passed and it goes on and on.
Being single, no immediate family except old brothers and sisters, I often wonder if I will have anyone left to leave my things, or execute the wishes of my will?
LikeLike
Circumstances are constantly changing therefore we should expect to update our will often.
LikeLike
Phoenicia, I have never thought of writing my will yet will be in coming years after I have kids and would like to confess it’s because of your post I will until now I for me as well it was elderly people who were on to writing wills. Thank you dear for changing the way I thought about it.
LikeLike
Sushmita – you are welcome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is an important message and I think a will makes perfect sense for you, or anyone who has a family Phoenicia.
Admittedly, it is not high on my list of priorities. Pre-divorce we were definitely on top of things like this, but after that (and I won’t go into the ugly details) I put all of that out of my mind. My family has been gone for years, I have the basics covered so if I fell over dead tomorrow (working at my computer no doubt!) no one would have to worry about burying me in a shoe box, but beyond that I’m focusing all my energy on living each day. 🙂
LikeLike
Marquita – thanks for sharing your view. I did not even ponder on writing a will until I had children.
LikeLike
Hi Phoenicia. Stopping by from BHB on LinkedIn. I haven’t given much thought towards a will yet because I don’t have kids or a pool of assets in my life just yet. While it sounds like a tough process to mentally prepare for, having control over important matters like those you bring up is beneficial, so it’ll be a topic to revisit during a more appropriate stage.
LikeLike
Welcome Tatis, it is important to have such things in place and I am sure you will revisit this at a later stage in life.
LikeLike
I’ve had a Will since I was in my 30s. I wanted to ensure should something happen to me that my assets (such as they were at that time) would go to my niece and nephew. My husband and I are finalizing updated Wills next week (we’ve been married 4 years). Also, if you have investments, make sure that you have beneficiaries listed for each one of them, including secondary beneficiaries.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great aunt you are!
Thanks for your advice on beneficiaries.
LikeLike
If you have children you should definitely write a will. But be fair so that all your children inherit equal parts of your inheritance.
LikeLike
Catarina – I totally agree on sharing your will equally between your children.
LikeLike
My husband and I have made our wills. Given our age we felt it was important.
LikeLike
It really does give you peace of mind knowing your will is in place.
LikeLike
Phoenicia, I don’t think writing a will is morbid at all – we all know death is a result of living. We have a will but more than that. There is a lot of paperwork required by the executor. Knowing what that is and gathering it all in one place, complete with addresses and passwords, I knew all that was required and where everything was located. This was relatively easy organizing work for me that will save our executor months of time.
Great post.
LikeLike
Lenie – we had to complete a large amount of paperwork. Rather time consuming but a priority for us.
LikeLike
Hi Phoenicia. As my husband is considerably my elder, we have had our wills done every since we got married. As you say, I think it’s important for people of all ages to have a will, as one never knows when the end is near.
LikeLike
We should prepare for all eventualities.
LikeLike