Christmas Eve was spent writing down my final wishes. Why? Well, my father asked me to. Why should you? Because it is extremely helpful in the event of your death for loved ones to not have question your final wishes.
Want to be buried in your car, have a viking funeral or just be thrown in the ground? -say so. In notarized writing. Want all your money to go to your family or split it all evenly among certain people? -say so. If your loved ones have just lost you, they are already in a great state of pain (assuming you weren’t a horrid human being) and the last thing you want is for them to suffer more in guessing what you would have wanted.
Writing a will is not difficult, but there are proper ways to go about it. Ideally, if your family has a trusted attorney, inquire with them. If that’s not the case, there are plenty of “free” templates to download online. Please note that many will have you take the time to fill it all out and then ask for a credit card, so if you are going to go that route, be sure to get a blank pdf or word file and fill it out from there.
Basically, you decide your final wishes, decide who gets what and where you would like the rest of your assets to go. I personally made contingency amendments. For example, certain individuals will get X,Y, and Z if they complete A and B. You can decide whether a bond will be held by the court. This helps assure one person doesn’t squander your life’s work with disregard to your will, but it will also cost your family money.
Once you have written your will, you need to have it notarized. Often, your bank will offer this service for free. If not, lookup your local notary, pay a fee and have it witnessed and notarized.
Not acknowledging that your life could end at any moment is ignorant. Don’t be that guy. If you love your family, give them that peace of mind. As someone who has had too much experience with early death, do your loved ones a favor and write your will today. Thanks.