Do You Have a Will in Place?

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I took an agonizingly long time to sort out my will and the other things that go with it. Things like power of attorney and enduring power of attorney. It’s something I avoided and I told myself I didn’t have enough assets to warrant the effort. At the time I found this all to be very boring stuff and I guess I didn’t want to consider the possibility of things going wrong.

So what are these things I’m talking about?

  • A Will is a document that states how you would like your assets to be distributed when you die, and the person you would like to be responsible for making sure it happens that way.
  • A power of attorney is a formal document giving another person the authority to make legally binding decisions on your behalf while you are alive, eg if you’re away traveling, or if you become unwell and are no longer able to manage your financial affairs.
  • An Enduring Power of Attorney continues to have effect after you have lost your capacity to self-manage eg accident, illness or disability.

will-and-testament

What was it that changed my mind about planning for the future?

  • I got serious about becoming a life coach and in the process, this was one of the questions to consider.
  • I actually did have assets – funds from my superannuation account, my plans to invest in property and I think I had a few shares at that time, a mortgage on the family home and a family business with large outlays secured by our home.
  • I was constantly worried about the debt and what could happen if something went wrong with the business and the home was lost as well.
  • I worried about what could happen to my children if I wasn’t around to make sure they were provided for.
  • I was tired of feeling powerless about my financial situation.

With the decision made to take charge, I worked through Suze Orman’s book – 9 Steps to Financial Freedom. If you thought looking at your budget was a reality check, go through this process! (You won’t be sorry, I promise.)

Taking charge of my finances is a journey that continues. Regular review is required. Is my will still current? Yes, but in the online world we live and work in there are other considerations I didn’t have to think about back then. I will need to look at this at some stage in the not too distant future.

I took an agonizingly long time to sort out my will. I was surprised at the peace of mind it brought me.

Are you ready to step into your future? Contact me to see how working with a life coach can help.