I am no attorney.  Whether a will is good for you or not is a decision is one you should discuss with your attorney.  The legal profession is much more in tune with how to best dispose of your estate.

That being said, I can only offer my opinion on the matter.  I feel it is the most important document a person will ever sign.  The document allows you to direct how to dispose of your estate and take care of your minor children.  If you die without a will, then the state gets to make those decisions.  I guess it is up to you to determine if that is important to you or not.

There are many reasons to consider having a last will and testament.   That 70% of the population does not have a will is an alarming statistic is.  Of course, much of that population is young and does not see their mortality may water down that statistic a bit.  But as one who works in an industry that deals with end of life, I can tell you that death does not discriminate.  We all are going to be dead someday.  Young or old doesn’t make a difference.  A will is a document that can protect those we leave behind.

In my profession, I see many families whose lives are more complicated because their loved one died without a will.  The court has no documentation to review the desires of the loved one, so it has to appoint someone to oversee the distribution of the estate.  Matters in court seem to take a long time anyway, and if there is someone appointed, generally that means their decisions have to be reviewed an approved by the court, which would seem to slow matters down more than if a will were present.  That can mean the family has to delay the closure they need; sometimes a memorial cannot be purchased until the funds are freed up from the estate.  The memorial is usually the last decision and purchase made in the process of the death.  Sometimes the mourning process is affected terribly by the delay of the memorial purchase.

Having a long, drawn-out process to settle the estate can have a terrible effect on a family in mourning.  Grief affects each of us differently but we can all generally agree that the process is not made easier if there is additional and unneeded work to be done waiting for the court to settle the estate.  Sometimes if there was an extended illness before death, there are many bills to pay and no funds to pay them with until the estate can be settlled.

As I have said, I feel a will is important.  Especially if there are minor children to be taken care of.  Even if there is a small estate.  If there is someone to be left behind that you want to be sure is taken care of, then your desire can be fulfilled through the drawing up of a will.  See your attorney today.

For more education about wills: http://www.legalzoom.com/wills-guide/importance-of-wills.html

Do you have thoughts or stories about how a will affected you at the time of the death of a loved one?  Please comment below to share in the discussion.