Last Will and Testament

Plan for when it is too late.

There are 2 definitions of an Estate:

  1. an extensive area of land in the country, usually with a large house, owned by one person, family, or organization.
  2. all the money and property owned by a particular person, especially at death.

We need to talk about the second definition.

Death is such an uncomfortable subject. Most don’t want to think about it, definitely don’t want to talk about it, never mind planning for it. Some fear death, and some just believe they are invincible.

One reason could be that, it is not really your problem. If you are no longer around, then it doesn’t really matter. But, it does. Especially if you have a family that depends on you.

The other reason could be that there are so many things that you don’t understand about the paperwork and taxes around dying. (Yes…taxes! It costs money, and you have to plan for that.)

So, while we have some time on our hands, let’s talk details.

If you are in an accident, and cannot speak for yourself, have you decided what you would like to say? Do you want to be resuscitated? Do you want to stay on a ventilator? You can have your say in a Living Will. If you do draft one, be sure that your emergency contacts know about this document, and what your wishes are.

If you do not survive an illness or accident, and pass away, there will be a lot of questions. You are probably responsible for paying some bills, your family has to survive financially, and you have passwords for bank accounts and emails and computers and Facebook. Perhaps even Tik Tok.

If you are divorced, and have kids, the child support agreements and divorce orders will have an impact on your current relationship or marriage, and you need to plan for that.

Most people will think that a Last Will would address all of these scenarios, but that is unfortunately not true. They get solved with a well thought out plan, where all scenarios get mentioned and mapped out.

There are clever ways available of saving money and taxes on an estate, but you have to prepare for that in advance. Unless, of course, you want the state to get hold of your Estate and decide what will happen with everything that you owned.

At Momentum Irene we can help you plan for the inevitable, even during lockdown.

There are numerous technological ways that we can communicate with each other without actually meeting face to face.

Let us take you for a virtual coffee, and talk about you, for when you can’t.

Article by Michael Pfister, Franchise Principle at Momentum Irene. Michael joined Momentum in 2014, and has been in the Financial Planning industry since 2004.