Right now consider this question: Where is your will?
You have probably placed it in a file, safe, or your bank lock box. You may have also informed your children of its location so that they can find it easily when you pass away. However, have you stopped to consider the value of reading your will to your children?
You might ask, why would I need to read my will to my children? You may think "It is none of their business. or They are going to find out anyway when I'm gone."
Here are 5 reasons to read your will to your children before you pass away.
1. Understanding and Clarity - Attorneys do their best to write documents that are clear and leave no room for argument. You and I may read them and easily get confused with all the "here-to-withs" and "therefore hence-forths", but to lawyers and courtroom judges they are actually clearly written. Have you ever had to learn something well enough to teach it to someone else? The same applies to your will. You can be certain that you fully understand your will if you can explain it to your children. Also, reading your will to your children gives them an opportunity to ask questions and for you to be able to explain why you set up the transfer of your estate the way you did. Any questions and concerns can be addressed by you personally. Your children will walk away with a thorough understanding of what to expect at your passing.
2. Pass on Charitable Passions - If you have made a charitable designation in your will, you can explain to your children why you chose the organization. Giving your children the full story of what the organization means to you and why you are leaving a significant bequest helps transfer those ideas better to your children. They may even be intrigued and explore adopting your charity as their own and giving to your desired charity during their lifetime. The best way to pass on your charitable passions is to fully explain in person the importance of the charity to you and why you strongly support their work.
3. Avoid Surprises - We all know in many cases perception is reality. Your children may have the perception you have more money in your estate than you do based on your lifestyle choices or your level of giving. Your children really don't know how much money is in your estate unless you tell them specifically. Also, if you have made a large bequest to charity, your children may inherit less than they think they will receive. This can cause problems if your children believe they will inherit a larger sum and make lifestyle decisions based upon that belief. For example, they might save less for retirement or less for their children's college education because they believe they will receive a larger inheritance. Or they may choose to live in a more expensive home if they think someday they will inherit a certain sum of money. By reading your will and making it known to them exactly what they can expect, they can plan their own finances accordingly.
This of course could also work in reverse. If you live a very frugal lifestyle, but have a large sum of money in an investment account or retirement account, then revealing how much the children will receive in their inheritance might actually cause them to save less. They may have had the perception they were not going to receive much and now learn much more could be received.The best solution here is to go ahead and read your will to your children, but tell them they should plan to fund their own retirement and education expenses for their children. They should be told to not expect the inheritance to pay for anything, because we never really know what will happen. An extended sickness or economic recession could cause the inheritance they think they are going to receive to be much less.4. Job Notification - Reading your will to your children informs them if you have named them to fulfill a role in your estate plan such as personal representative, trustee, power of attorney for healthcare or power of attorney for your finances. This is important because if gives your children the chance to ask questions on what is expected of them in these roles. Particularly in the role of healthcare power of attorney, you can give your children your verbal instruction and reasons behind any life sustaining treatments you want to refuse. This conversation can really give your children comfort and confidence when or if the time comes where they need to make these tough decisions. They will be able to think back and remember when you told them face to face what treatments you do or don't want.5. Legacy Transfer - We all have a legacy we want to leave our children. We want to be remembered favorably, positively, and warmly. Your estate documents are very good at the technical details of passing your estate to your children, but they do not do a good job of passing on your legacy. To pass on a legacy you need to be face to face communicating your heart, your desires, and your passions to your children. They need to hear it straight from you, in your own words so they can hear the passion, warmth, a caring in your voice. Words on a page cannot do this. If you read your will to your children and explain to them lovingly, warmly, and passionately the detailed thoughts behind your decisions, they will see in person the legacy you want to leave.Deciding how to leave your estate can be difficult, time consuming, and emotionally draining. You may have strained relationships with your children that make it even harder. Perhaps your children have made poor life choices and you're not sure how to leave your estate to them. We are here to help walk you through those questions to find solutions. Give us a call to schedule a time to discuss how we can help you update your estate documents. No strings, no cost. We're here to help.