I really get worked up each time I hear lawyers advising people not to write their own will. Writing a will is not brain surgery, for crying out loud! Yes it is a legal document but you do not need a lawyer. Let’s get real for a minute. It is your will, don’t you want to have control over it? This is what you are going to leave behind for your loved ones. Don’t you want them to have a smooth experience? Losing you is hard enough but imagine having to jump through all the legal hoops to get your estate distributed can be quite an adventure on its own; not a fun one, believe me!
You write your own will, expressing how you would like your possessions to be distributed after you die. It may also include naming the person that you wish to look after your children if both you and the other parent were to both die at the same time. If you sign this document in the presence of two witnesses who then both sign, you have created a legal Last Will and Testament. It is not brain surgery; it is simply an expression of your wishes for your estate.
Yes I understand your case may not be the same as others. Things can of course get complicated if you have more difficult things to take care of. If you need to set up a trust for a child with special needs, you may have many business interests, or property held in different countries, maybe if you have young children from previous marriages…in these cases you may need legal advice. But many people do not require legal advice to prepare their own Will, because writing a Will is not necessarily a difficult task.
Most interactive online services are prepared by lawyers who are very experienced in estate planning. They even have a service that lets you have your Will reviewed by a lawyer once it is completed. There are many arguments from lawyers on various reasons on why you should not prepare your own will. As though it is a definite challenge by your own family should you prepare your own will. The funny thing is, according to my circle of lawyers, the wills commonly challenged in court are prepared by lawyers.
So enough with the scaremongering analogies. Preparing your own Will isn’t like performing your own brain surgery, walking on the moon or splitting the atom. It’s simply writing down what you want to happen to your things after you’ve died, in a clear and unambiguous way. So don’t be afraid of it.
There you have it, writing your will is not brain surgery. There are many other things much tougher. So enough with the fear tactics. Instead of listening to a lawyer, why don’t you try Google instead. Just do some research yourself. Here at WillsMalaysia we offer a very comprehensive service to writing a will online. We offer more than just writing a will. Check us out. WillMalaysia.my
