We all understand that the laws of succession (sounds like the Royal family, which is not really what I’m after here) and how things are passed down from generations, through wills, estates and stuff, are complicated.
There are centuries of previous cases that set precedents, and each successive government likes to tinker with the tax code. We live within a system that requires your wishes to be written down, codified in some form. So again, let’s be clear – just having a quiet word with your next of kin what you’d like to happen just isn’t good enough – you’ve got to write this stuff down.
Wording is important too. You can’t just scratch it out on the back of a fag packet and think that that’ll probably be ok. I’ve had loads of comments in the past that it’s quite possible to write your own will – and it is – but one badly chosen word in the wrong place can open things up to interpretation – and that’s crucial, where the law is concerned. What you don’t want is interpretation; what you’re after really is absolute clarity, with no grey area at all.
A will-writer’s job is to translate your wishes into words which will stand up if challenged. Now most of us don’t have complex, massive estates with hordes of greedy twice-removed relatives clamouring for a share. And most of us have nice families that all get along. But I’ve seen it too many times – nothing destroys families more quickly or more completely than arguments about money after a matriarch or patriarch has died.
Clarity of wishes achieves multiple aims. It makes things unambiguous for those left behind, makes it easier for them to sort it all out, saves time and money in wrangling over the estate, and preserves family ties. For all those reasons and more, we need to make sure our wishes are written down.
Early Planning Leads to Timely Execution
In my experience estate planning for a couple really begins in earnest once the first partner dies. But that’s often much later than it should be happening. I understand of course – no-one really wants to spend an evening by the fire talking about organising their wills. Far easier to just kick the can down the road.
But that’s not an intentional approach. Like anything in life, we should be intentional and treat this as a project that we need to complete. There will be steps that are needed to be ticked off as we complete it. We’ll work through those steps one them one by one, and when they’re all done, we can tick off the project at least until it comes time to review.
The sooner you can consider this stuff, the more energy you’ll have to devote to it and the easier it’ll be to move forward with confidence, knowing that you don’t have this big unclosed loop hanging over you.
Think of all the energy you put into building wealth so you could enjoy a happy and rich retirement. The financial planner doesn’t stop there, and you are the financial planner in this case, not the professional financial planner.
The person who is planning their finances – that’s you – doesn’t stop at the point of retirement, or even in retirement. What happens is that we begin then to devote that same energy to making sure the end game is properly planned and executed.
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