People who say this often do so because they feel they don’t have much in the way of assets and figure a will is just a needless expense. Consider these factors before you make that decision, however.
Without a will, the state will decide who receives even your car and your modest bank account. And it won’t be your best friend or the local charitable organizations you’ve always supported. Instead, if you don’t have any close family members, it may be a nephew or second cousin you haven’t seen in years and never liked even then.
If your best friend is a loyal pet, its fate won’t be decided by you, but perhaps by the local animal shelter doing the best it can. A will could at least designate someone to take over and you could use your modest assets to provide for the best care you can afford.
And let’s say you’ve got some unassuming family heirlooms that may not be worth serious money but should be preserved for posterity — and you wouldn’t want them just sold at a yard sale. A will could specify those items and make sure they end up in the right relative’s home where they’ll be passed on responsibly.
If you have young children but no will, you won’t be able to designate where you want them to live and with whom. You may love your favorite sibling, but perhaps his high-rise Manhattan lifestyle isn’t what you really have in mind for your children’s upbringing. A will could name a preferable guardian — even good friends — who live where your little guys will have the best childhood experiences. And there won’t be others they don’t even know trying to make that decision for you.
And if you have somewhat more than you think you do, you may not want those children to receive even modest distributions from you when they reach 18, the legal age of majority, even though they may still be in high school. After all, it takes some financial maturity to decide whether opening investing for college or a home versus investing in a flashy car is the best choice at that point.
OK, so maybe you’re a little better informed now and see the value of at least a simple will; but you’re busy and you’ll get around to it as soon as you can. Remember this: None of us have an unlimited amount of time and it may be less than we think. Even Abraham Lincoln thought he’d make it home from the theatre that night — and he was a lawyer who wrote lots of wills in his time. Just not for himself.
Soon we’ll be making more of those annual New Year’s resolutions, the ones we make every year but never quite accomplish. How about crossing a will off the list early and concentrating instead on that 5 pounds you keep promising to lose? You’ll be better off all the way around!
L. Phillips Runyon III has practiced law in Peterborough for 50 years and was the presiding justice of the 8th Circuit Court for 27 years.