Dying Without a Last Will and Testament

One of my nurses mother passed away last week. A tragedy enough. But she was in her mid-eighties and her health has been deteriorating for the last several years. It was still unexpected, as these things frequently are.

However, as she and her brother were discussing the arrangements, they were shocked to find, she had no Will.
Or at least not one that they could find. The mom had assured them for years that she had a Will, and even said who the executor would be.

But now that she has passed, no Will can be found. She was not a wealthy person, living on her Social Security, and having minimal assets.

However, the funeral arrangements need to be covered financially. Neither of her children are  able to help at this time for varying personal reasons. So dealing with this will cause financial strain for the family, in addition to the emotional turmoil that occurs when losing your mother.

The legal processes for dealing with your financial/personal estate after your passing is complicated and time consuming enough, even with a Will and extensive instructions for your remaining family.

But not having a Will increases that difficulty ten fold according to many financial planners.

Many excuses abound for not having a Will:

• Too Busy
• Too expensive
• No attorney
• Too morbid-don’t want to think about dying.
• I can’t decide who get’s what, so I will just ignore it!
• I just want my hateful,  unappreciative  leeches I call children to have to deal with it!!!!!!

Why you should have a Last Will and Testament:

Here are my responses to the above:

• You think you are busy now-right!  Now do you think your children or loved ones are any less busy? Think about it as if you are the one calling probate judge, funeral home, banks, insurance agent, and all the other varied professions that have to be dealt with when you lose a close relative.
• Do you think burial costs are going down?-Deal with it now, pre-pay the funeral costs-pick out your urn/casket.  Don’t make your grieving kids/husband/wife deal with this.
• If you can afford an attorney, and have a complex estate, by all means hire one.  Let them lead you through the process.  But if you don’t have one, and your estate is simple, just get a simple Will-I have written a review about several  online options that are available.
• Yes, you are going to die.  Deal with it, so your family doesn’t have to!
• Don’t let your family tear itself apart, fighting over your stuff, or money.  Keep in mind, what they say about you after you are gone, will NOT hurt you!!!
• If you want to hurt your children, think of other, more fun ways to get ‘em.  Maybe a requirement to visit and leave flowers at your grave every year to collect on your estate….Or leave all your money to your cat!  Be creative, but please do something!

Reader comments about leaving a Will:

Do you have a Will?  Why or why not?  Is it too expensive, or just haven’t gotten ‘roun to it-as we say down here?