A will is a legal document that specifies who will acquire your real estate properties, cars, bank accounts, jewelry, and the like when you die. It is up to you to whom you will leave all of your belongings, just be sure that they are eligible to receive and that everything goes through a clear legal process.
As for parents writing a will and testament is not all about the properties, rather the assurance that your children will still be well taken care of when you are gone. You need to choose trusted people in your family to look after them in case anything happens to you.
Here are some of the reasons why parents should draft a will for their kids:
To avoid family disputes
Will and testament disputes happen to even among the closest part of the family. Challenging a will implies that one party thinks he deserves more than what is written in the will, hence if one of your children challenge your will with your other kids, their relationship might suffer from irreparable damage and as parent, this is difficult to imagine. That is why, it is important that you properly and carefully write a will to make sure your children get equal shares of the property you’d leave and avoid any family disputes in the future.
To have a trusted guardian to look after your children
The most difficult task for parents when drafting a will is choosing a guardian for their children. It is really tough to decide on this matter, but you have to do it anyway. Your children’s future well-being is at risk when unexpected things happen to you. This is the reason why you need to choose a person who you think will take good care and love your children when you are gone. Also, it is essential to name a trustee, someone who will manage any properties you pass on to your children, in your will.
To make distributing assets easier
The problem about not having a will is that the probate court might send away inquiry letters to financial institutions to handle the deceased’s financial situation. Additionally, your relatives may be requested to give out financial documents. By writing a will and testament beforehand, you can prevent all the paperwork and footwork your relatives will exert. You will save them from all the hassle and stress that they might acquire from processing various documents. Having a clear proof of distribution of your assets for the court to see will be easier and more convenient for everyone involved.
It is your obligation as a parent to secure your kids future and drafting a will as early as now is the first step in keeping your kids safe in case something unexpected happens. Nobody knows what is going to happen tomorrow, so might as well be ready by securing a will.
Many people think that a will is unnecessary and just a waste of money, but no one knows the future and you can leave your kids behind in an instant. Would you rather leave them with problems or investments? As parents, we obviously know the answer.
This is a sponsored guest post and does not necessarily reflect the views of Mommy Ramblings.
The part where you mentioned that the probate court might reach out to financial institutions regarding our assets made me consider writing a will. My husband and I haven’t written one and reading your article convinced me that it would be better to plan everything out for our kids, in cases of accidental deaths. I’ll try to reach out to a legal professional and see if they can help us with the documents.