Do you have a will?
No??
Maybe, you never thought it was necessary unless you have children or a lot of assets?
Everyone should have a will, because if you pass away and have not indicated in a will how you want your possessions and assets to be divided or apportioned, most governments will step in, freeze all bank accounts and even make it impossible to access safety deposit boxes.
When one works hard all of ones life, it sure would seem like a slap in the face…
Our friend that recently passed, had no will. She was only 56 and probably never imagined that there might not be time to sort things out for that final day. Sorry if this sounds gruesome, but life is so uncertain, we all know that.
It is a HUGE problem and mess for her poor husband, as you can imagine.
Making a will – why it’s important
There are lots of good financial reasons for making a will:
- you can decide how your assets are shared out – if you don’t make a will, the law says who gets what
- if you aren’t married or in a civil partnership (whether or not it’s a same sex relationship) your partner will not inherit automatically – you can make sure your partner is provided for
- if you’re divorced or if your civil partnership has been dissolved you can decide whether to leave anything to an ex-partner who’s living with someone else
- you can make sure you don’t pay more Inheritance Tax than necessary
