A lot of people, both young and old, may question the wisdom of even having a will. To them, having a will is something that only old rich people have to worry about. For poorer people, they may not see any real benefit in having a will to specifically divvy up their assets. Despite this line of thinking, even people who do not have much money still stand to benefit from having a will, as not having a will can certainly create complications for those who are left behind.
What is the point of a will if I don’t have much money?
The first thing we need to do is establish exactly what a will is and what it does. A will certainly does handle the distribution of your money and assets, but it does so much more than just that. For example, did you know that if you have children living with you, a will can be used to help decide what happens to them? Obviously, if the children still have a parent, this will not come up, but in a single-parent household, that can become a source of serious conflict. For example, if you pass away, you may have multiple people who want to take in the children.
What happens to my children if I don’t have a will?
If you do not have it set up in your will how you want the custody of your children to be handled, it creates an increased risk that a conflict may arise between family and friends who want to take care of the children, or even people claiming that you had promised that your children would live with them after you passed away. This usually will not work on its own, but it is better to avoid having this kind of situation from happening, and the best way to do that is to put it all in writing.
How will my assets be distributed?
As far as the distribution of your assets, it is actually based on a whole lot more than just your money. Granted, money is going to be a factor in the will, but there are other assets that are going to matter. For example, what if you have a lot of electronics that will otherwise be disputed by family and friends who want them. Or you may own a vehicle or a house that will otherwise be a matter of debate. Granted, you may not be able to appreciate how things are going to be distributed after you have passed away, but the important thing to consider is that you know that the people who you care about in your life are taken care of.
What happens if I don’t have a will?
In the event that you do not have a will, there are some risks that you have to assume as a result. The first is that the laws of your state are going to be responsible for deciding how your assets are distributed. This is referred to as a “dying intestate.” In this situation, the laws are usually going to favor distributing your assets to your spouse and/or your children, though that is not always going to be the case, so be careful if you want to go about this in the simplest fashion. For married people, you want to make sure that you have a will, as this minimizes the risk that your assets are distributed in a way that would not be beneficial to what you want out of a will. However, if you want to distribute certain assets to people besides your spouse, a will is important for that. With children, you need to be specific about what should and should not be given to your children, just to make sure that nothing is left vague. Not only that, but you really do not want people arguing with one another about assets. As mentioned above, a will also helps with who is the designated guardian of your children if both spouses are passed away or unfit to take care of them. Make sure to keep your will up to date, however, just in case you have more children or get remarried. If you do not have any spouses or children, everything becomes a lot more complicated.
What is the point of a will if I don’t have much money?
Ultimately, determining whether a will is a valuable thing to have is going to depend on the assets that you have. For example, someone who is has a lot of debt and not much money or property, particularly someone who is young, single, and without children, may not have as much incentive to craft a will. It may be difficult to determine whether you would benefit from a will. In this case, your best bet is to talk to a lawyer who specializes in crafting wills, determining the value of making a will in the first place, and trust and estate litigation. By talking with people who have expertise in these fields, you are likely to have more knowledge yourself about it. While it may not be worthwhile at first to make a will, you should always keep in mind the possibility that this could change and be ready to create one.
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