Why you would need a Will now

As time goes on and we go up in age, our mental capacity will eventually deteriorate. Although may take a longer time for some, it will happen to many people. It is an unfortunate, yet an unavoidable part of life. This is a big reason why it is important to be proactive, and take action now to make sure that your assets are well-protected.

Here are a couple of points that will help you understand the importance of preparing a Will right now:

Death

Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way. Without a question, this is can be an extremely daunting thing to think about. It is worse to think about how it can simply occur any moment.

Having a Will in place can help in easing the tension a bit. A Will allows you to have perfect control over your assets. Your Will can ensure that your loved ones are taken care of in such a way that you envisioned them to be. Additionally, your Will will not only determine what you leave your loved ones, but you can also determine who will look after your children.

Also, if the unthinkable did happen and you did not have a Will or any close family, your assets will essentially be owned by the Government. They will then determine how your assets will be distributed – your wishes will unlikely be entertained.

Mental Capacity

Many issues arise when people leave it too late to prepare their Wills, in such a way that they no longer hold proper mental capacity. Proper mental capacity is a legal requirement for your Will to be legally-binding and enforceable.

If your Will ends up being challenged in Court after you die, they will examine whether you met this legal requirement when your Will was prepared and signed. For obvious reasons, you can no longer support the validity of your Will at this point.

There have been a number of instances where potential will-makers are turned away by lawyers due to having doubts about the client’s mental capacity. Having doubts does not necessarily mean that a client does lack mental capacity. If a doubt arises, then a lawyer will advise their client to obtain an official medical certificate to confirm whether or not they have the proper mental capacity to create a Will. Once the lawyer is satisfied with the medical certificate, then they can carry on.

However, it is most definitely ideal to avoid having to go through all these lengths just to prove that you can create your own Will. It is better to do it sooner rather than later.

If you are going to eventually do it anyway, why not just do it now?

What can WE do?

You may think to yourself – I’m young, and I don’t even have a clue as to who should get what. This is understandable and it is perfectly natural for you to change your mind over time about your Will. Major life events such as a marriage or having a child does warrant for you to review your Will. However, the most important is to simply have something legally-binding in place now, just in case something unexpected does happen!

Further, the administration of your estate will be a lot smoother, cheaper and less stress if you have a Will and have appointed executors to manage your estate.

Regent Law will ensure that you are properly advised regarding your Will before executing the documents. We want to make sure that what we put in writing is exactly what you envisioned.