Life Begins At.....
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/23233
MAKING A WILL/BEQUESTS Making a Will is the start of organising your legal affairs, not the finish Why plan your estate? You may ask yourself why waste the time you have while you’re alive planning about what will happen after you die. The fact is, estate planning is essential to ensuring that the appropriate assets end up with the appropriate people at the appropriate time. It is much more than simply making a will; careful thought must be given to what you own, how you own it and your wishes must be balanced against the needs of your surviving family members and dependants. If careful thought is not given to your estate plan, not only will it be a traumatic experience for those family members left behind, the only people benefitting from your lack of thought will be the lawyers fighting over your will and your estate. The emotional cost and time delay for the surviving family of an estate that hasn’t been properly thought through is significant. Often an estate which is in dispute will be delayed by up to two years while the lawyers argue issues of capacity or adequate provision in the will through the courts. These delays and litigation are so often caused by inadequate estate planning on the part of the deceased. THE RETIREE SUMMER 151