A will is a legal document that helps you distribute your assets following your death. A will allows you to give direction to those you’ve left behind and state your wishes. Most people need a will. If you’re over the age of 18, then you should already have one.
Some people don’t want to spend too much time putting together a will, and they’d rather focus on other parts of their life. They may believe that creating a will could take days or weeks.
The truth is that if you have all of the documents you need and the information your attorney asks for prepared in advance, creating a will can be quick and efficient.
What can you do to prepare to create a will?
To prepare to make your will, you need to gather and assemble documents such as:
- Financial documents
- Stock and bond statements
- Digital asset information
- Information on real estate and property
Any information you have about your property will be needed, so prepare to give copies of that information to your attorney.
What happens after gathering documents for your will?
After this, you’ll go over a plan with your attorney to set up your beneficiaries and heirs. Your attorney will talk to you about who you want to put in your will and whom to name as executor. Your attorney will put the will together for you as you work on these aspects of the legal document.
After this, you should choose important roles associated with the will. For example, if you need to select a guardian for your children, then that information should be discussed and added to the will. If you want to choose an executor, then your attorney should talk to you about whom you’d like to select and get them involved in that conversation.
Your attorney will guide you through the process of building your will, so that you can put it together more quickly and easily than you might imagine. Your will is important, so setting it up now can make estate planning much easier as your life goes through changes in the future.