The No. 1 reason to have a will in place is so that your wishes will be carried out when you’re either dead or incapacitated. If you don’t have a will, durable powers of attorney, or other similar documents in place, then the state gets to decide who gets what, and that’s a deplorable state of affairs at best and a catastrophe at worst.

2. Seeing to the Needs of Your Loved Ones and Friends

By having a will, you will be able to disperse your funds and property among people whom you think are most deserving of inheriting. You have total control over your assets. You can put them into trusts, irrevocable or otherwise, IRAs for your children’s college education, your spouse’s bank accounts, or even your friend’s business. There are certain rules, however, for how you can leave different assets to different people and/or entities, so checking with an attorney is a good idea.

3. Leaving Instructions for End-of-life Care

Although technically not part of your will, a durable power of attorney lets you assign someone who will oversee your affairs before you die after you become incapacitated for any reason. One of the most common reasons to have such a durable power of attorney is that you find that you have Alzheimer’s Disease, and you have to act quickly before you are no longer competent to make any decisions at all. In some cases, you may want to appoint a guardian, who will be able to make both medical and financial decisions for you.

4. You Get to Pick Who Oversees the Disbursement of Your Assets

As part of your will, you can name the person you wish to be your executor. Otherwise, the state will appoint someone. In many cases, that’ll wind up being the state itself, which is a situation that no one wants. You might also consider making the executor, durable power of attorney, and/or guardian the same person for simplicity’s sake. It’s also a good idea to name an alternate because it’s possible for the person whom you select to die or become incapacitated before completing the required duties.

5. The Personal Property Memorandum

If you have large numbers of tangible assets, which are things like works of art, valuable collectibles, such as baseball cards or coins, vehicles, or family heirlooms, then it’s a good idea to have a personal property memorandum. That’s a document where you make your bequests in a big list and then add a line in your will that says, “For all bequests, see attached personal property memorandum.” That lets you modify the memorandum to change your mind about who gets what. This obviates the need to change your will completely if you include all your bequests in the text of the will. By having the personal property memorandum, you simplify the whole process.

No one can predict the future, and while it can be troublesome to imagine something bad happening to you, it’s ideal to be prepped, and one of the main ways to prepare for the future is to have a will in place.

Published by: Nelly Chavez