It is easy to assume that having a will drafted is something that only wealthy people need to do, but everyone can benefit from having a will.
You may believe the purpose of a will is to decide who gets your money or assets after you die. While that is one thing that a will can do, there are other reasons why drafting a will is a good decision, no matter your income.
Funeral arrangements
Your will allows you to appoint a person you trust to handle your funeral arrangements or file taxes for you. Even if you do not have a significant amount of assets, you likely have accounts with various companies.
These companies need to be contacted to let them know of your death and so any appropriate next steps can be taken. This is another task you can appoint someone to take care of for you.
Social media
You probably don’t associate your social media with an estate plan, but almost everyone has at least one social media account today. What happens to your social media after you die?
There may be people you do not want to access your account to shut it down, or even worse, start posting from it. You can appoint someone to control your social media accounts and close them.
End-of-life decisions
A will does not only control what happens after you die; it can control what happens before you die. You can use a will to declare what you want to happen if you are near death.
For example, your will can state if you want end-of-life measures to be taken. It can include what you want to happen to your body, such as if you want to be buried or cremated.
How a will benefits your loved ones
A will with this information will save your loved ones the time, stress and potential disagreements about what you would have wanted.
Talking to an estate planning attorney is a good first step toward starting your estate plan. A will is a document that is personal to you, so it is important to get advice on what’s best for your situation.
