You may not like to think about your demise but we all have to face up to the fact that one day we won’t be around any more. With this in mind it is important that you have a will in place, which ensures the smooth managing of your assets after you have gone. No matter whether it will be a family member of a wills lawyer who will be executing your will, the more detailed that you make it, the simpler that their job will be.
Wills are in fact relatively simple documents for most people, and here is what you should make sure that you include.
Name of Executor
Choosing an executor is important, as this will be the person taking care of your will once you are gone. If you wish to use a family lawyer Melbourne has a broad range of good quality options, but you could alternatively select an astute family member, or even a friend.
Funeral Wishes
Whilst you of course will not be there for it, at least not in mind and soul, if you have any wishes for your funeral you can add this to your will. This could include whether you wish to be buried or cremated, what music you want to play and even what flowers you wish to have for your send off. If you do this then speak with your loved ones once you have added it to the will, just so that they are well aware of what your wishes are.
Legal Guardians
If you have young children, under the age of 18, you can use the will to make provisions for how they will be cared for. In most cases the other parent will take care of the kids but in the event that they die too, you can help out your kids by deciding upon a legal guardian. Naturally you will have to ensure that the person you want is happy to take over this role in such an event. If you have nobody to leave things to, you could always select a charity or an organisation who could benefit from your assets in the event of your death.
Money and Assets
You can split up your money and your assets however you want, and this can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. There may be certain items which you want your family to have, or you may wish to leave everything to just one person. Again it is worth speaking to the people who you plan to leave your assets to, just to make them aware of exactly what your wishes are.
Ultimately the will is very simple to fill out and a wills lawyer will be able to help you draw one up. Always remember that your will can be changed whenever you want to, so if things change in your life you will be able to update the information within the will. There is no limit to how much you can change your will, and most people’s first will looks very different from the document which is used once they have passed on.
