Where there is a ‘Will’, There is a way

Popular misconception that a ‘Will’ is typically prepared by dying old men in 70s/80s to document how their wealth is to be distributed among the kin. Another related misconception is that its only for the rich folks who have lots of money to be distributed.  On the contrary ‘will’ is the document that gives direction on how your assets and wealth is to be distributed, in the unfortunate event of death and is so applicable to all. I try to give a perspective to this

You definitely need one, if you have complicated family relationships:

Lets say a person A got married to B and they have children C & D. A gets divorced with B and remarries with E and their children are F & G. A gets divorced with E and starts living H and they have a kid I.  In the absence of a well documented and registered will, and an unfortunate event of A’s death, there is heavy chance of dispute arising. In the end the property left by A may not be distributed in the manner he would have wanted. So its important for people in complicated relationships to have a will and register it as well.  Registering the will can help in case anyone tries to contest the authenticity.

You are an accomplished individual in 50s and above:

A person who is in 50s and has some wealth accumulated through his lifetime of hard work. Even if he/she does not have complicated relationships and had kids from single marriage,  a will would help his lifetime of earnings to be distributed in an amicable manner between the sons/daughters.

You have a single spouse and single kid:

This looks like a straight forward case where there is no need for a will, isn’t it? Yes until you hear about cases in this world where the father’s money is taken all by the son/daughter and dead man’d widow is left to struggle for making a living. So an explicit will stating how the wealth needs to be shared between spouse and kids is going to help in getting into such situations.

You have a single spouse and no kids:

Come on, nothing can be more straight forward. Why does one need a will? Okay let me explain that  Will is a document containing complete document of the assets and wealth a person has. Lets say a person A deposits x amount of money in a bank account in the form of fixed deposits. Unless spouse is aware of this account, she would not be able to claim that amount. There are many unclaimed deposits lying with banks as the next of kin are not aware of the fact. Will can serve as document of reference for the loved ones left behind.  Also if one has noble thought of donating some of his fortune to charity, it needs to be documented in will so that its executed accordingly.

You have complicated financial transactions:

In a country like India, we complicate our lives by indulging in transactions for petty financial benefits.  So will becomes a necessity. I know a situation where an uncle of mine invested his grand mother’s money in his name, as he was eligible for better dividends. Up on his death, as this element was not documented, the money wen to his legal heir. A will could have helped. 

So I would conclude that ‘will’ is a document which makes sure your preference of allocation of your fortune is done justly in your absence. For people who are in youth as well this is a must and it can be changed periodically (once in few years) to reflect accurate state of affairs and preferences.