Estate planning is a process where one’s make plan for the transfer of the estate after death.
Your estate is all the property that you own such as properties, cash, insurance, cars, lands, unit trust etc.
It spell out the detail how all the assets are distributed after you pass away by removing conflict and issue that may arise at a later stage.
It’s reported that there are about RM 40 billion worth of assets left by Malaysians and yet to be claimed by their heirs because most of them die without writing a Will. All this assets has become an unclaimed money as reported in the New Straits Times paper on January 22, 2007.
I’m sure you don’t want your assets to be in the statistic, right? One of the good way to avoid this is to educate yourself about the importance of having a will and a trust.
Why You Must Write A Will?
All of us work so hard to make money and it’s equally important to take time planning ahead with a proper estate planning. One of the good way of doing estate planning is by creating a Will. It’ll help to avoid any frustrations, delay, legal conflicts, family disputes, extra cost and stress when the assets of the deceased is distributed. It’s not true that their assets will automatically go to their immediate family members when they pass away. Your family may even facing a long long delay in obtaining their rightful inheritance.
What is Will?
Formal definition:
A Will is a declaration made by a testator, in the form prescribed by law, as to how his assets is to be distributed when he pass away. If the person making a Will is a man, he is called the testator ; and if a woman, a testatrix. The Will authorizes an executor(a man) or an executrix(a woman) to collect assets, pay off debts and divide the property according to the wishes of the deceased as stated in the Will.
It layman definition(term):
A Will is a legal document in which you declare your wishes for your loved ones and how to distribute your hard-earned assets after you pass on.
***
Since death is a taboo subject, many have the impression that Will is only written by people who are dying soon, very old or have a lot of assets. This’s totally not true as everyone need to write a Will. Your assets will be frozen and your family may have difficulties accessing it if sudden death occur without any Will. The Court then will dictates under Distribution Act on who shall inherit your assets should you pass on without a Will. They may even will have to fight for their right in court if disarrangement occur especially in a complex legal battles.
I’m sure you don’t want this thing to happen to you, right? I urge you not wait anymore in writing a Will because by having a Will, you can provide for your beneficiaries in the manner you prefer instead of letting the laws decide. This will definitely spare your spouse/survivors from unnecessary heartache, emotional stress and extra expense in the future.
A Will is also a wonderful way to express your love for your family. I highly recommend you to not to delay writing a Will anymore. Why not do it today to enjoy the benefits.
