In our experience, people with minor children often put off creating a legal will. Why? Creating a will is often perceived to be time-consuming and tedious, and many people with children feel they are too young to need a will.
Another common misconception is that you think you don’t yet have enough assets to worry about creating a will. Some people just haven’t gotten around to it yet – there’s the aspect of paperwork, plus few of us like to contemplate our own mortality.
However, if you die without a will, there is no assurance that your assets will be distributed according to your wishes. You instead be leaving a very complex tangle of legal troubles to your surviving relatives as your legacy, which is something to consider!
What are the biggest challenges when drawing up a will?
- Wills can be complicated in normal situations
- An inheritance can affect the finances of adult children
- Having blended families can create another set of questions
There are many different situations for families. Blended families now make up the majority of clients. There can be problems with competing interests, or families that don’t get along.
More often, however, families do get along, and the challenge is getting clients to consider the possibility that the harmonious or friendly dynamic could change with a death in the family. Problems can arise even in well-adjusted families.
In all of your estate planning you have to take into account whatever might happen and plan for it. There are always legal devices to ensure your wishes are carried out.
The first step is getting in touch with a lawyer. You need to make sure you find an expert, because wills and estates law can be very complicated.
Be sure to review your plan every few years, as things can change.
People have always known they should create a will, but as our affairs have grown more complicated as a society we’ve come to realize that more time and care should be put into creating a will.
Please contact us today to talk with an estate planning lawyer in Victoria.