WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO WRITE A WILL?

 

When is the right time to write a will?

Here’s a hint, long before disaster.

Not when you’re old, not when you’re at the departure wing of life, if anything you should do it when you’re healthy and strong.

Sadly, what obtains in our society is an apathy towards estate planning, with many seeing it as a bad omen.

There is, however, a challenge with this mainstream practice.

NO MAN KNOWETH HIS TIME.

Many people pass away without being diagnosed with any terminal illness. Accordingly, many people pass away before getting to old age. Even more of those people pass away before getting to the point where they consider themselves super rich!

We are so engrossed in the “rat race” that we spend all our time pursuing wealth, only to succeed and subsequently be too occupied managing our built-up wealth to protect it and decide what happens to it when we are gone.

The question on your mind then becomes When is a good time to write a will?

 

A SIMPLE RULE OF THUMB

The human mind dissects situations using pattern recognition. This is done in a bid to condense the thinking process as much as possible so that we don’t spend all our time thinking about things around us.

You can apply that here.

Its simple, the moment you have an item of value that you believe should be protected and passed down to your chosen beneficiary, you should write a will. There are elements to this thought process, you have a beneficiary, and you have an item you would like to have given to them if you were to pass at any time, to protect your loved one’s interest, you should protect this transfer with a will.

This simplifies the thought process for you as much as possible and makes the decision an easy yes or no.

 

WRITING A WILL IS NOT A DEATH WISH

Writing a will is not accepting death! There is a cultural superstition that writing a Will means wishing death upon oneself and this couldn’t be farther from the truth.

If that’s true, then so is wearing a seatbelt or wearing a helmet. It is simply a safety precaution intended to protect your loved one’s interests in the event of your passing; it’s not a way of asking for an accident or concussion.

You can update your will at any time to reflect new developments. You can also take the easy route and just use a consistent timeline i.e you can update your will every 3-5 years depending on your personal preferences.

 

 

UPDATE MADE EASY

To create or update your Will periodically, you need not go through the rigors of getting a lawyer each time. You can create and update your Will through Willpower, an online Will writing platform that allows you create and update your Will periodically from the comfort of your home.

The Willpower Will writing platform can be accessed by logging unto www.willpower.ng.

 

However, if you feel strongly about creating a Will through the traditional offline method, it may be helpful to simplify the update process by entering an update arrangement whereby your executors may put a pre-agreed call to you to inquire periodically if you want to update your Will. The update arrangement may also take the form   of periodic email reminders or any other arrangement best suitable to you.

 

If you have anything of value, however little, then the write time to right a Will is today. Take that step and secure your assets for your loved ones.

There is hardly any other decision that you’ll make that will be more consequential to their well being if you are no more.

 

NB: For expert advice on creation of Will, visit UTL Trust Management Services Limited at https://utltrustees.com/our-services/trust-services/private-trust/trust-administration/