Most people don’t think that they need to work on their will until they’re retired or some even later on in life. But this is problematic because unexpected events happen, and traumatic situations can come out of nowhere. After you pass, all of your belongings will belong to the government if you don’t have a will, and they will generally disperse all of your belongings between all of your family members.
Having a will can give you control over exactly who gets which belongings of yours. This makes it important that you should start reviewing and creating your will right now. Here are some main reasons why you should start thinking about your will.
Who gets your children?
When you pass, the state ultimately gets the decision about who takes care of your children. If you have a spouse, then they will generally receive the rights to them. But what if they pass with you? The government in your state ultimately gets to decide who gets custody of your children when there’s no other guardian to care for them. Do you really want some strangers caring for your children?
That’s why you can choose a guardian in your will for your children if something were to happen to you or your spouse. You’ll want to carefully choose their guardian and make sure that it’s someone you will always have a reliable relationship with. Ensure that you can consistently trust them to care for your children similarly to how you do.
Makes it easier on your loved ones
Once you pass away, your loved ones will obviously be devastated. They’ll mourn the loss of you for years to come, but you can help them to deal with the mourning better if you create a will so they don’t have to go through the legal matters while they’re mourning. Let your family members mourn the memories of you instead of requiring them to consult with lawyers and other members of your family over your belongings.
You have the control over your assets
The main reason why people create a will is to decide who exactly gets their assets. Whether it’s your home, property, car, or all of your money in accounts, you have full control over who gets what in your will. If you don’t have a will, then the particular state that you live in gets to decide for you who gets your assets according to their rules and guidelines.
It can be difficult to consider everything when writing a will, so it’s important that you either conduct thorough research or hire an attorney that’s experienced enough to help you with your will. Choose your attorney carefully since some of them have more knowledge and experience than others. More experienced lawyers, like the ones in Houston, can consider a variety of factors that can make your will-writing process easier. Hiring a Houston probate attorney for your will can save you and your family time, money, and effort when dealing with someone passing.
Protects your business
For those of you that have a private company, you can also choose who you pass the company on to after you pass away. Especially for those of you that have a family-owned business, you have all the control when it comes to who controls and owns the rights to your company after your passing.
Without a will, the state government has control over your business and will likely close it down instead of passing it on to other individuals. Because of this, many family-owned businesses don’t last as long as expected.
Conclusion
Overall, creating your will is probably the last thing on your agenda list. It’s generally not something that people work on until later in life, and that’s why many people’s belongings and assets end up in the hands of their state. We never know when we’re going to die, and it’s better to have everything planned out just in case.
You can avoid the confusion between your loved ones and family members by creating your will now. Writing your will ultimately gives you the control you deserve over who receives the legal rights to your children, your business, and your assets.
