Note to self: write will

[selenay]

Oh, uncle, why did you have to refuse to make a will? You were a stubborn old goat, but couldn't you at least have done that?

We're breathing a sigh of relief that the stubborn old man pre-booked and paid for his funeral, as his assets are likely to be frozen tomorrow and there is a chance that the government is going to be taking all the money.

The friends who had been caring for my uncle are talking to a lawyer tomorrow to find out what happens now, but legally the government can claim all his assets due to having died intestate. It's possible that they may not if his estate is below a certain value, but we don't know for certain yet. Added to this, his late wife's daughter is a money-grubbing coke head and he told us many times that he didn't want her getting his money because she'll just use it to kill herself faster. So we need to find out from the lawyer what the situation will be there, so that she can't sue us six months down the line.

Hopefully the government won't care about his physical belongings, because we have to clear out his apartment by the end of the month or someone will be paying his rent until it gets cleared. As his assets are being frozen...

Folks, even if you only have a tiny bit of cash please write a will. I'm making one this week. The legal fiasco descending on us is daunting.

Comments

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I will add that you can buy will kits in most office supply stores and they do count. Also, you don't need a lawyer; a kit will that's been notarized is perfectly legal.

[alwaysanakin.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about all that. People in my family have been notorious for dying without wills and leaving everything in a mess. Took my mother months to straighten things out when her brother died. I guess people either don't think they'll ever die or since they won't be here for the mess so why care.

[nic]

That sounds so messy and painful to be going through. :(

I wrote my will when I first moved overseas, and wrote it in a generic enough manner that it goes:

Me > Parents > Siblings > Siblings' children

(even though the final category didn't exist at the time).

That means I'll only ever have to update it if I marry. And the interesting thing is, even though I might not want my stuff to go to certain relatives (who are bad with money), I figure that once I'm dead, I won't really care. And it will be much easier on everyone left behind to split things EQUALLY rather than deliberately give someone less.