You WILL get this item on your holiday planning list!
Passport: check. Insect repellent: check. Sunscreen, sunhat, flip-flops, bikini: check. Currency and car hire: check. Will: Will? Yes – you know. That thing that I bang on about rather lot? If you haven’t got your Last Will and Testament drawn up yet and you’re jetting off to foreign climes – or even if you’re staycationing and hitting the highway to the highlands of Scotland – now is the time to get your Will sorted out. At long last.
Planning ahead
A bit of forward planning goes a long way here. I’ve mentioned this more than once but the topic bears mentioning again. Why? Because it’s not ideal to try and get a Will drafted two days before you’re due at the airport.
You’ll have loads of other things on your mind and not enough time and emotional energy to give proper thought to what you want on your Will. Instead you’ll write a Will that you’ll have to change later because you lacked the requisite headspace at them. I call such Wills ‘stop-gap Wills’
Better by far to allow yourself some time. Time to give all due attention to such minefields as inheritance tax, let alone who gets the china cabinet and the pot dogs. Do that, and you can buckle up your plane seatbelt and enjoy all the delights of modern economy flight safe in the knowledge that your Will is appropriate and future-proof.
After all, it’s hard enough selecting which sandals to pack without worrying about your Will.
Avoid Panic Buying
With each summer season that comes around, I’m taken by surprise by the number of calls I get from panicked soon-to-be-holidaymakers wondering if they can get a Will drifted before they reach for the skies. It seems that the imminent holiday prompts them to remember their Will is still not done. In particular this is common when the whole family is travelling together. Their collective imaginations go into a tailspin. ‘What if the plane crashes? What if something happens while we’re away?’
Then there’s fear of a terror attack. At this point I’m duty-bound to point out that statistics show that flying is the safest way to travel. We all know that crossing the road or riding a bus is likely to be more dangerous. But when did logic ever prevail in these situations?
All I know is, out of all the reasons why people to decide to draft their Will, sixteen years of Will writing tell me that going on holiday is high on the list.
What can you do now?
Don’t leave it until the last minute! Talk to a professional like myself, now and get your Wills drafted while you’ve got the time and energy to think about it. And that’s not when you’re trying to pack for a holiday and have several things that you need to do at once.
Note too that some professionals may charge a premium for writing a Will in a short space of time. So that’s another cost to bear if you leave it until the last minute.
If you have left it to the last minute then a ‘stop-gap’ Will may be the way to go with a view to revisiting it when you return from your travels. Again, this may well add to the costs.
What information do you need to put in my Will?
If you have left it to the last minute and are going on holiday in the next couple of weeks, here are some essentials that you need to have covered in your Will:
- Decide on who you want to be your Executors. Then ask them if they’re willing to take on that responsibility and get their full names and addresses. If you’re a married couple, for example, the survivor might act as the Executor and it’s only if you both die that you’ll need to appoint replacements. These could be your adult children?
- Decide on who will act as a guardian for your children under 18. Again, make sure they’re willing and then get their full names and addresses.
- Decide on who the beneficiaries will be. If you’re married with children, you may leave your estates to each other and then the children. If disaster befalls the entire family, which is what people worry about pre-holiday, who will you then name as the beneficiaries in your Wills? You’ll need their full names and addresses too.
These are the main elements for a Will. But you also need to consider such things as inheritance tax, your funeral wishes and any legacies you might want to leave.
I trust this will help you make the necessary decisions. Then, when you do speak to the professional who is drafting the Will, it will save time. Because you’ve already made some of the decisions needed and have the information to hand for them it’ll be an easier process.
How can I help?
If you’ve booked your holiday and know you need a Will, contact me now. Allow at least one week before you go on holiday.
If there’s enough time to draft a well-considered Will that is appropriate for you, I’m more than happy to do it. If you’re in any doubt, call me and we’ll see if there is anything I can do to help.
I want you to go away, enjoy your holiday and know that you’ve already sorted out your Wills and have nothing more than your footwear and cardigan needs to fret about. So, pick up the phone and let’s make sure you’re only thinking happy holiday thoughts before you go away this year!
Don’t delay, contact me at info@swindonwillwriting.co.uk or drop me a line at: 07538946839