It's time to update your will
In the past I have talked about the importance of drawing up your will. I happen to be in the 20-30% of us who have a will. I understand the importance of leaving your affairs in order even if you don't have much, you do have something or someone that you love. A will goes a long way toward making sure that what you may have does to who you want it to go to.
But even if you do have a will, that is not the end of it. Things often change in our lives, so the will you created 3 years ago may not reflect your current circumstances. Two fairly recent celebrity deaths point that fact out Anna Nicole Smith had a will but her will was outdated. In her will she left everything to her son who had sadly died before her, nor had she made any provisions for her infant daughter. Her will was outdated. Luckily the courts seem to have agreed that this young lady is Anna's beneficiary.
Michael Jackson's sudden death took seven years after he had last updated his will. Michael updated his will after the birth of his youngest child Michael had the foresight to realize that his circumstances had changed and to update his will.
No you don't need to constantly change your will but there are some circumstances when a will needs to be changed.
1. Acquisition of new assets. - You buy a car or a home you need to provide for the disposition of those items.
2. Birth of a child- a new baby means not only do you have another beneficiary but also who will raise your child should something happen to you. Who will you trust to oversee their inheritance until they come of age?
3. The death of a beneficiary-If your primary beneficiary dies before you, you want to make sure that your assets are distributed among you secondary beneficiaries as you would wish it to be.
4. Disowning or welcoming back a family member-we all have falling outs along the line in our lives and for some people that means disowning them and sometimes it mean happily welcoming them back.
We all need to look at our lives regularly to see if our circumstances have changed. If they have then we need to make sure that our will always reflects the most recent circumstances in our lives. So evaluate and see if it is time to update your will or if you don't have one, it's time to get it done. For most people the drawback to getting their will done is the cost, well how about a way to make that cost a non-issue?
But even if you do have a will, that is not the end of it. Things often change in our lives, so the will you created 3 years ago may not reflect your current circumstances. Two fairly recent celebrity deaths point that fact out Anna Nicole Smith had a will but her will was outdated. In her will she left everything to her son who had sadly died before her, nor had she made any provisions for her infant daughter. Her will was outdated. Luckily the courts seem to have agreed that this young lady is Anna's beneficiary.
Michael Jackson's sudden death took seven years after he had last updated his will. Michael updated his will after the birth of his youngest child Michael had the foresight to realize that his circumstances had changed and to update his will.
No you don't need to constantly change your will but there are some circumstances when a will needs to be changed.
1. Acquisition of new assets. - You buy a car or a home you need to provide for the disposition of those items.
2. Birth of a child- a new baby means not only do you have another beneficiary but also who will raise your child should something happen to you. Who will you trust to oversee their inheritance until they come of age?
3. The death of a beneficiary-If your primary beneficiary dies before you, you want to make sure that your assets are distributed among you secondary beneficiaries as you would wish it to be.
4. Disowning or welcoming back a family member-we all have falling outs along the line in our lives and for some people that means disowning them and sometimes it mean happily welcoming them back.
We all need to look at our lives regularly to see if our circumstances have changed. If they have then we need to make sure that our will always reflects the most recent circumstances in our lives. So evaluate and see if it is time to update your will or if you don't have one, it's time to get it done. For most people the drawback to getting their will done is the cost, well how about a way to make that cost a non-issue?
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