If you are like most people today, you do not have a will. The
reasons for this failure are many, with the most common being
along the lines of “I don’t have enough assets to worry about”,
“I don’t know how to write a will”, or “Lawyers charge a lot of
money”.
Here’s my answer to the last two - buy a software package that
helps you draw up your own will and follow the forms. This
software will ask you a series of questions and you supply the
answers. When you are done, you have a piece of paper ready to be
signed; witnessed and placed somewhere it can be found in the
event you die.
As for your lack of asset objection, that might be true if you
live in a cardboard box, with only the clothes on your back, as
the last surviving member of your family. If this does not
describe you, than you do have assets and you really should make
preparations for dispersing them when you die.
As you can tell from the title, this is not about your will
except to relate as to why everyone should have one. Instead,
this writing is about your children. If you are childless, keep
reading because someday you may have children. If you know you
will never have children, keep reading because someday you may be
able to use what you learned here in a discussion with someone
who has children.
The biggest reason everyone who has children must have a will is
because of the children’s guardian. Essentially, a guardianship
is an institution created and administered by the court, making
the guardian a court-appointee. However, when you name someone to
be a guardian in your will, you make it difficult for someone
else to be appointed. If you don’t name a guardian, a judge will
decide who will raise and nurture your children. Most likely,
this judge does not know your family, nor does the judge really
have the capability to know if any of your extended family
members can properly raise your child.
It is impossible to stress how important it is for parents who
die early to find the right people for the guardianship job. They
will be responsible for the upbringing of your children. You
should definitely consider things like parenting skills, values,
physical environment (apartment/farm), and religion.
Two important questions to ask (and the answers):
1. What if the best person to bring up your child physically
is not the best manager of money? While you are planning your
will and your children’s guardian, you can also plan to separate
the functions of guardianship. To do so, you first write your
will appointing a “guardian of the person” who will care for your
children physically. Then, also in your will, you name the person
whom you appoint to be the “guardian of the estate”. This
person’s job is to dole out the resources so that your children
are not a burden on the person or family taking care of them.
2. What if the guardian you select is over flowing with love
and values, but scrape the bottom of the barrel each month to
feed their own children? Everyone knows that you do certainly do
not intend to add your children to theirs and cause them undue
hardship. This leaves only one real solution.
Provide adequate financial resources for the guardian to properly
care for your children. At the least, you should provide enough
cash resources to feed and cloth your children each month until
they complete high-school. Many parents also make an effort to
provide the resources for their children to be able to go to
college.
Most likely your own asset chart is a little short for providing
the amount of cash your children will need or you want to provide
after your death, consider using life insurance. Term life
insurance to be paid into a trust is relatively inexpensive
during the years your children are at home.
If you are leaving a trust with a significant sum of money, you
may want to appoint a “guardian of the estate” to handle the
finances separate from the “guardian of the person”. This can
remove the obvious temptation if someday the guardian encounters
personal finance difficulties.
The estate guardian and the person guardian must be able to get
along, so it is important you pick the right people for these
positions. Even more important is that if you do die early, your
child will be brought up in a loving, nurturing home you have
chosen.
After all, you wouldn’t go through the difficult issues of estate
planning and guardian picking if you didn’t want the best for
your children. That best includes you making out a will, and
doing it as early as tomorrow.
Roger Sorensen is a Financial Speaker and Author and the editor of Money Basics - The Newsletter found online at the website Slave2Work.com. You can contact him through the website, read articles he has written and find his most recent book “You Don’t Own Money 2nd Edition” at the http://www.Slave2Work.com Bookstore - Roger Sorensen is a Financial Speaker and Author and the editor of Money Basics - The Newsletter found online at the website http://www.Slave2Work.com You can contact him through the website, read articles he has written and find his most recent book “You Don’t Own Money 2nd Edition” at the Slave2Work.com Bookstore - http://www.slave2work.com/products/ematerials/ebooks/ydom2ebook.html
Tags: children, conrol, court, estate, family, finance, guardianship, kids, law, personal, protect, will