Having a written legal will is important, yet more than half of Australian adults don’t have one. To provide you with an easier and more affordable way to write or update your will, Vision has partnered with Safewill, a leading online will writing platform.
Have you ever seriously considered what happens to your worldly possessions when you die? Christians are more inclined to discuss what happens to our eternal soul than our assets.
But we shouldn’t neglect the importance of having a will and leaving an inheritance. It’s a way to provide for the needs of our loved ones and the organisations we care about. If you die without a written will, the court decides how your assets will be distributed according to a strict legal formula.
Peace of Mind
Alex Cook from Wealth With Purpose believes that having a will can give you peace of mind, knowing that your loved ones will be provided for, while avoiding potential arguments between family members.
Alex is a successful financial planner whose ministry equips Christians to honour God with their finances by teaching sound financial skills. He recently joined us on 20Twenty to share his thoughts on the importance of having a will.
Having a written legal will is important, yet more than half of Australian adults don’t have one. According to Alex, about 40% of Australians die intestate, meaning they don’t have a written will. ‘As a financial planner, one of the things I often have to remind clients of is to get their will done. It’s one of those things that people put off.’
Facing our mortality is not easy for any of us, and it can lead to potentially difficult conversations with our children or our parents if they haven’t planned ahead appropriately. It’s an uncomfortable topic, but something we can’t continue putting off.
Planning Ahead
Another thing we often forget to do is keep our wills updated. ‘I recommend that you update it when there is a significant change in your circumstances, or otherwise every three years,’ says Alex.
Checking the appropriateness of the people we have nominated as executors is also important. ‘One of the mistakes people often make is to appoint someone who’s older and therefore likely to predecease them.’
‘There are all kinds of things you need to do to make sure your will is still relevant.’
Safewill Free Wills Week is running from the 2nd – 9th September 2024! For more information on creating your free will, click here, and listen to Alex’s full interview on 20Twenty below:
