Don’t put off writing your will

[cronus]

http://www.scotsman.com/news/don-t-put- ... -1-3256611

Don’t put off writing your will

Take control of the way you mark your exit, says Dianne Paterson

New Year, new resolve. Or so we like to think. A new year has always been a time for reforming old habits and achieving new goals.

Of course, the success in fulfilling any resolution depends, to a large extent, on the nature of the resolution and the determination of the person making it.

If you struggle to keep your resolutions, why not ditch the trivial and frivolous and make writing your will your top resolution for 2014.

As much as we might wish to ignore it, we all know we are going to die one day. For this reason alone, most of us know we should write a will.

However, there are many other good reasons, which should hopefully strengthen that resolve further and ensure that this resolution, at least, will be the one achieved this year.

Making a will gives you certainty in allowing you to control who will inherit what. This includes the opportunity to leave legacies to people or organisations outside the family such as a valued friend or favoured charity.

Without a will (intestacy), the law sets out certain rules as to how the estate should be divided. These rules dictate the distribution of the estate to spouses, civil partners and children.

This can mean that in certain cases, the amounts laid down by the law will not exhaust the total estate left or, alternatively, that the spouse or civil partner will scoop the lot, leaving nothing for the children. In addition, complicated rules apply to cohabitees requiring them to make a claim on an estate within a set period of time.

Without a will, the law determines not only who inherits but also the amounts of that inheritance.

A will also enables you to appoint Executors who are responsible for carrying out your wishes and ensuring your estate is wound up in a timely and efficient manner.

Without a will, Executors are appointed by the court (usually your next of kin), an appointment which might not necessarily meet with your total approval.

Anyone who has young children should make a will to ensure their wishes for guardians are recorded rather than leaving such a decision to relatives or the courts.

Again, making a will provides the perfect opportunity to choose someone who will offer the best care for any children in the event of them being left without either parent.

A will can also provide the perfect vehicle for some tax planning. By distributing assets in a tax efficient way or by creating a trust within a will, they can sometimes be protected and, at the same time, inheritance tax be reduced.

If you run a family business, a will can provide an opportunity to ensure that the business lives on long after your death.

(continued)

[JimC]

We re-did ours recently, to take care of some minor changes...

[Svartalf]

If I cack, my brother gets all as next of kin... no need for a will.

[pErvinalia]

We re-did ours recently, to take care of some minor changes...

You're leaving me your gin collection?!!

[PsychoSerenity]

Of course rEvolutionist [Bot] no longer needs to write a will since he's now uploaded his conciousness to the internet and can never die. Unless we get hit by some catastrophic cosmic radiation. Unfortunately as an ethereal being he can no longer make any use of Jim's gin bequest. Oh well, I'll just have to have it instead.

[Xamonas Chegwé]

When I go, you can all fight over my debts. Pappa already baggsied my Pokemons. I think that's it.

[JimC]

We re-did ours recently, to take care of some minor changes...

You're leaving me your gin collection?!!

I will be consuming the last drop on my death bed...

[pErvinalia]

Of course rEvolutionist [Bot] no longer needs to write a will since he's now uploaded his conciousness to the internet and can never die. Unless we get hit by some catastrophic cosmic radiation. Unfortunately as an ethereal being he can no longer make any use of Jim's gin bequest. Oh well, I'll just have to have it instead.

[rainbow]

Stupid idea. You are going to be dead anyway. How will it make a difference?

[Hermit]

Stupid idea. You are going to be dead anyway. How will it make a difference?

Stupid idea indeed. If all you care about is yourself, that is. In that case it makes no difference at all to you where your money and other possessions go once you're dead. If you care at all about the welfare of your children, friends, causes - anything at all outside your own existence as an individual - on the other hand, you will want to write a will.

[cronus]

Stupid idea. You are going to be dead anyway. How will it make a difference?

Stupid idea indeed. If all you care about is yourself, that is. In that case it makes no difference at all to you where your money and other possessions go once you're dead. If you care at all about the welfare of your children, friends, causes - anything at all outside your own existence as an individual - on the other hand, you will want to write a will.

That is very astute. And wrong. When you leave material possessions to 'loved ones' they focus on the material possessions and their experience is soured by knowing you are gone. Leaving nothing is a more loving gesture, a reflection of genuine care. I'd like to be recalled for being the tight bastard I am - knowing deep down that other courses of action would bring my loved ones only sorrow.

[Hermit]

Stupid idea. You are going to be dead anyway. How will it make a difference?

Stupid idea indeed. If all you care about is yourself, that is. In that case it makes no difference at all to you where your money and other possessions go once you're dead. If you care at all about the welfare of your children, friends, causes - anything at all outside your own existence as an individual - on the other hand, you will want to write a will.

That is very astute. And wrong. When you leave material possessions to 'loved ones' they focus on the material possessions and their experience is soured by knowing you are gone. Leaving nothing is a more loving gesture, a reflection of genuine care. I'd like to be recalled for being the tight bastard I am - knowing deep down that other courses of action would bring my loved ones only sorrow.

Wrong? LOL. Your reply only provides another reason to write a will, for if you don't, your loved ones will get your possessions by law, only you have no say at all about who gets what. With a will, however, you could ensure they get nothing by passing your possessions on to, say, the Bjelke-Peterson foundation for orphaned, right-wing mice of doom.

[rainbow]

Stupid idea. You are going to be dead anyway. How will it make a difference?

Stupid idea indeed. If all you care about is yourself, that is. In that case it makes no difference at all to you where your money and other possessions go once you're dead. If you care at all about the welfare of your children, friends, causes - anything at all outside your own existence as an individual - on the other hand, you will want to write a will.

That is very astute. And wrong. When you leave material possessions to 'loved ones' they focus on the material possessions and their experience is soured by knowing you are gone. Leaving nothing is a more loving gesture, a reflection of genuine care. I'd like to be recalled for being the tight bastard I am - knowing deep down that other courses of action would bring my loved ones only sorrow.

Go on an extended SKI holiday, so there are no assets for the little bggrs to fight over.