Have You Signed Your Will?

Humans are optimistic. We don’t dwell on the fact that death is inevitable, and that bleeds into our personal outlook for the future.

It’s why we plan for vacations, drive in cars, fly in planes, and end visits with friends saying “see you later.” We have confidence that later is going to come.

Life would be depressing otherwise.

But that confidence can sometimes prevent us from preparing for the inevitable, which can sometimes lead to disastrous results.

Events in the past several of months have highlighted the risks of procrastinating.

I worked with one married couple in their sixties who were both healthy. We discussed their wishes during a planning conference; however, after I started preparing their Wills the following week, I had some lingering questions and called to get clarification of their wishes. That’s when I received the sad news that one of the spouses had died unexpectedly the weekend before.

A few months ago, I prepared wills and powers of attorney for another couple. All documents were in order and ready to be signed; however, the couple procrastinated on scheduling their signing ceremony. Before the documents were signed, one of them suffered a devastating stroke and was left incapacitated for two months before the client’s eventual death. The client had estranged children from a prior relationship that were disinherited in the new Will. Now those estranged children are potential heirs according to the Texas intestacy statutes.

If you don’t have a Will, take the steps to get one in place. If you haven’t signed your Will, sign it as soon as possible.

Chances are we’ll all live long, happy lives; however, tragedy and illness can happen to any of us at any time, so it is important that we be prepared.