Many of us write wills to protect our children when we are no longer around to do so ourselves. We want to be sure we have left them adequate financial resources to be at least comfortable and stable, and that its been left in such a way that it won’t be ravaged by the tax man.
And we want to ensure they will inherit at a time in life when they are perhaps more settled, and have worked any wild and reckless impulses out of their system. The assets we have spent our lives carefully nurturing are important to us, and we don’t want them squandered or perhaps preyed on by less than scrupulous partners. A well written will can protect from these eventualities.
But what about the most precious asset anyone could ever possess – the children themselves?
No one likes to think about what could happen if we pass whilst our children are still young, but sadly we should. We need to be sure we have nominated guardians we know will raise our children as we would wish, and if you can its always worth appointing reserve guardians as a back up.
Leaving a potential custody decision to social services gives absolutely no guarantee the eventual guardian will be someone we approve of. It can also be difficult if more than one family member would like to take on guardianship and your instructions are not clear.
What if you pass at a young age and your surviving spouse eventually re-marries? There are simple trusts that will ensure your half of the assets you have worked hard to grow together will be protected for your children, and not end up passing to a new spouse and any children they may bring with them to the family table.
Writing wills with our associates is a simple and painless process that can put all of these protections in place and give you real peace of mind, so the only question is what are you waiting for?