In Case You Get Hit by a Bus!
Among the many things that this pandemic made clear to me, the need to have one’s financial and other life responsibilities sorted and crystallized was a pretty important one. Having to deal with a close family member gone is hard enough as is, not knowing what you would have wanted can make it even harder for your loved ones. And if you are like most people, your finances and details are likely unknown or known only vaguely to your family. (in some cases even spouses don’t seem to have a good understanding of how one’s finances/assets are organized!)
Done right this will not only ensure that your loved ones are able to tide over your absence, but will actually give you the freedom and peace of knowing that you have things laid out clearly for them. It will also give you the opportunity to do a few simple tasks and set your family up for success even when you will no longer be able to guide them at every step!
I know it can be a little depressing to talk about creating a “will”. Talking about death and dying isn’t exactly supposed to be fun. But it is something that must be talked (or at least contemplated) about since it is an integral component of making sure that things actually happen the way you planned them to after you are gone or are disabled in a way that you cannot decide for yourself. It is also the right thing to do, to be kind to those in your family who would have to deal with the unfortunate fact of you suddenly not being there!
Let us take a hypothetical scenario to understand the gravity of what I’m trying to convey. Assume you are working in US on a H1B visa, lets’ say you and your spouse get involved in a car accident in which the only survivor is your infant daughter who is miraculously unhurt in the terrible accident. Now it will suddenly fall on to your parents, siblings or other close relatives to “figure” out how you would have wanted for your daughter to be cared in such an event! They also do not know what assets you may have built up over time in US and in what accounts. They also may not know about the life insurance benefits they may be beneficiaries of via your employer. Since you live in US and have most of your assets across multiple accounts here, it will be logistically challenging for them to take over your finances in absence of these key pieces of information.
Listing your key wishes and vital pieces of information will make life a lot more convenient for the people who have to deal with the consequences of you being no more! It need not be a legal document if you do not want to consult a lawyer (although the availability of online legal services that can cheaply draft a will has made it relatively easy). It can simply be an document listing down details of your assets, institutions where they are located, insurance policies, location of important documents like titles and passports in your home, how you would want your son to be taken care of in such an event and the way your assets should be dealt with. You can share this document with people close to you in your family who you would expect to deal with your absence in such a scenario. If you do not feel comfortable sharing all this information directly with your parents/siblings/relatives, you can print and sign the will and place it in a secure location at your home and let them know that they should open this document if such an event happens. And do remember to update the will/document every couple years as your accounts/finances/dependents/policies/wishes may change over time.
Depending on the US state you live in, if you want to have a legal will drafted, it is usually a straightforward process that does not require a lawyer unless you happen to have a complex set of circumstances.
A lot of times we tend to assume that those close to us with just somehow “know” what our wishes would have been and execute them without the key pieces of information that may be needed. But that is simply a bad assumption and can potentially make a hard situation even worse to deal with.
Another way the process of getting a will or a living trust drafted may help you is if you have accumulated substantial assets (eg. More than $1 or 2 million) and want to protect them from future lawsuits/court orders. US being the litigious society that it is, it is not uncommon to get sued claiming high damages. In such a case your assets may be fair game to be claimed in case court does not decide in your favor. There are estate planning instruments (like irrevocable living trusts) that estate lawyers can guide you through in case you have built up substantial assets that may warrant protection. Umbrella insurance policies may also achieve something similar but may not customize as well to suit to your specific estate planning needs.
A couple recommended reads in this area if you want to spend time learning more are linked below:
