Saw this tweet today, and thought I’d write a post about it.
https://twitter.com/AngryBlackLady/status/1609183979399438336?s=20&t=jb0ZW25N7l_Y44zkvimTwg
If you have any care for the people who come after you, you need to write a will.
It’s okay (not great, of course, but life is what it is) if you can’t afford the whole lawyer shebang at this stage of your life. Not everyone can afford to do the (important) legal part of their will. But all of us can do the emotional/mental labor of listing all our assets and debts, and writing down who you want to receive them when you die.
This goes beyond just bank accounts and cars and so forth. Do you have a collection of old Magic cards? A dear friend lost their brother this year, and he made sure to account for his collection in his last wishes. (I don’t know if he had a will or not. He was relatively young.) Anything you own will have to be disposed of when you pass, and your next of kin will be grateful to have some idea, any idea, of what you would like done with it. Even if the answer is “Sell it all to an estate sale company.” That’s still an answer.
If you have minor children, it becomes especially important to make sure they are cared for in the event of your passing. Do they have a Designated Guardian listed in your will? This isn’t a legally binding thing, but a court will take your wishes strongly into consideration when choosing a guardian for your child in the event of your death. Do you have life insurance? Who’s the beneficiary? Make sure it’s not an estranged parent, or anything like that.
Look, nobody likes to think about this stuff. But it’s important. A lot of what we call “adulting” is just the boring, painful parts of life that we do because not doing it makes things worse for the people we love. And since this is the time of year when everyone is being pensive and making resolutions, consider “making end of life plans” as an idea.
A friend of mine made a spreadsheet of Things To Do When You Are The Executor, when his father passed away. Here’s the folder for that. Note that none of us are lawyers, none of us are YOUR lawyer, and this is just a starting point for you to use in conjunction with your actual professional who has your back. But everyone needs a starting point, so if this helps you, I’m glad.
Emilybook 