Posted on 31 August 2009. Tags: asset allocation, estate planning, financial planning, Legal, legal guidance, personal finance, testament, wills
Nowadays, it seems that most people are getting smarter about financial planning and estate planning. As a result, people are often inquiring about whether they need a will or not. Because of this trend, we are going to explain the situations where it would be advisable for someone to have a will.
Just to ensure we are all on the same page, let’s define what a will really is. A will or testament is a legal document that identifies where a person’s material possessions are to go once they pass away.
Furthermore, a will can also be used to specify who will take care of the dead person’s young children. As a side note, if you have small children, please let the new guardians know ahead of time (you would be surprised how many times people do not do this).
As an additional reminder, the reason you would create a will is so your material possessions go to the people you want. If you die without a will, your state will make the decision for you. Hence, your long lost cousin (that you hated) may get some of your possessions.
With the three main purposes of forming a will out of the way, let’s discuss whether you should establish one or not.
If you are a multimillionaire, you should have a will. If you have a sentimental collection of (fill in the blank), you could use a will to leave this items to your favorite cousin. If you don’t want your ex-wife to get your stuff, you should have a will.
Second, if you have very young children, it would be wise for you to create a will. Otherwise, your children may be taken care of someone you rather not take care of them. In addition to taking care of the children, the new custodians would also be responsible for any of the children’s assets (unless you use a trust)/
In conclusion, this article has shown the reason why you would need a will. If you don’t have a lot of material possessions and don’t have very young children, a will may not be for you. But if either of these circumstances describes your situation, you should consider getting a will immediately.
The Dayton Lawyers Guide was established to help people learn about the various facets of the law. These facets include information about bankruptcy and why you need a Prenuptial Agreement.
Posted in Personal Finance
Posted on 30 August 2009. Tags: Advice, contract, death, Family, Finance, grief, Insurance, Investment, law, Legal, life, misc, protection, society
by Rodney Daniel Bolton
We have no need for life insurance when we are young as we have nobody depending on our financial well being to survive and nobody who will suffer financially if we should tragically die. However as we get older, get married and build a family, we acquire dependants (people who depend on us financially) and so it is probable that you will want to protect them in the event of your death.
It is well worth insuring the main breadwinner of your family, just in case, unlikely thought it is, they suffer an untimely death, and then subsequently, you lose their income, it will not have the huge financial implications that the loss of that income under and other circumstance would incur.
There are two main types of cover, life insurance, which covers you for a predefined time period and pays out if you die, and life assurance which involves you paying regular premiums and then your estate receives a return upon your death.
If you have young dependants (children) and are a one-income family, then it would be advisable to take out life insurance to cover the period in which your children will be at school as they will be fully dependant on you during this period. When they leave school and get incomes of their own, the need for you to have a high income will decrease, as will their dependence.
How would your family cope if your income was to come to an abrupt halt? If the worst were to happen, what would they do? Would they be able to live? It is these kinds of thoughts that drive people to get their lives insured. The future is never certain but life insurance allows you and your partner to have relative peace of mind about what could be round the corner.
Life insurance can be relatively a cheap price to pay to protect your family against a major disruption if you should die. The prices can go up in the case of very high earners or if your selected policy contains specific inclusions that mean the premiums are higher, but on the whole, life insurance is very affordable when you consider what could be lost in the event of your uninsured death.
Posted in Insurance