Have you written your Will?
Everyone, regardless of age, needs a Will.
Why?
The answer is simple. Without a Will, you have no say over where your assets go. None.
If you have children, it is imperative that you have a Will drawn up. You will want to designate a guardian of your choice for them, won’t you? Without a Will, the courts will decide where they go. It may not be with your mother, or sister, as you had planned. They may end up in foster homes until they are 18 years of age, and no where near blood relatives. Furthermore, they may not receive the benefits of the hard earned money you left behind.
At the time of your death, if there is no Will explaining where the money is to go, the courts will decide. At best, your children, or spouse, may receive half of your estate. Half. The other half may be distributed between your parents or siblings, or retained by the court system.
Every year the United States Government is awarded billions of dollars because of individuals–just like you--who did not have a Will on file at the time of their death. Despite the face that they did have money in their accounts, and estates and businesses in their names, without a Will to designate have to divide those assets, they ended up the property of the government.
Let’s face it, everyone procrastinates over this one. How many of us feel we have enough assets to warrant owning a Will? Unfortunately, that number is high. But, in reality, everyone should have a Will. Whatever you own, belongs solely to you. You should decide what happens to it after you die, shouldn’t you? Shouldn’t it be handed over to your loved ones?
Another reason many people don’t have Wills made out is because they feel they are too young to die. Again, that is just not sensible. Anyone, at any age, can be involved in a fatal car accident, plane crash, shooting incident, die from a sudden disease, or die from a 100 other causes. It happens all the time.
If you are married and have no children, you probably expect that in the event of your death all of your assets would automatically be handed over to your spouse. It makes sense, but it doesn’t always work that way. If you have substantial assets, other family members may want a piece of the action. Without a Will, the courts will probably award your spouse one half, the other half probably will be handed over to your parents. If your parents are deceased, the money may be divided among surviving siblings or distant relatives, or, the money may remain within the legal system.
If you own a business worth a great deal of money, and do not have a Will at the time of your death, your family may not see any of the benefits due them. If you and your spouse both die in a car accident and there’s no Will, can you rest assured that your children will be taken care of? Will the business assets be liquidated? Will the bank accounts be given to your children if they are minors?
If you have a Will, there will be no questions, no worries. You and your family will already have the answers.
A Will is also important for single individuals who live with another adult as man and wife, but have never legally tied the knot. If there is no Will, and one person dies, the survivor will receive nothing. If you are married but do not have a Will at the time of your death, your significant other will be lucky to receive half.
Some thoughts for you and me as the vacation to your homeland is coming up...
Alright, your money in the bank in Qatar is important...But what abour your other valuable things in life..?
The bequeathed legacies from your loved ones, your properties, your precious collection of stamps, books, coins, etc..? Your jewellery or sports stuff? Your lovely collection of clothes or crockery?
Whom do you want your kid(s) to be with, in case they are minors? To which child should your each stuff go? Who should be the caretakers of your assets, in case the children are still minors? What would you want your kids to be in life?What are the dreams and your aspirations ? The set of values, you want them to have..? Which charity or less privileged person or the poor relative or neighbour should be given something rather than the stuff being thrown out, given to charity, or stacked up in the attic for decades? Which bank account and locker in which all your valuable documents are money is..and to whom they should go..These are all matters which could be mentioned in a will
It sounds overwhelming, but it takes only an hour to make a list and slowly decide...
A will is always changeable how manyever times you want...
Globe-traveller, thanks. Let me contact the bank and ask again. Will let you know if the reply remains the same.
Dr Mana - no worries. I think they might give you that argument if your account is based here locally - try convert it to offshore account then they need to have a nominee..
If nothing works let me know, I will put you in touch with the manager I deal with - lets see what she says.
Globe-traveller, that just proves their customer service sucks. :-(
I will visit them again to clarify things on this. Thanks a ton.
Sorry...never bothered with Qatar Banks...was talking about Indian Banks...(or which is the standard banking practice)...no point in keeping money in Qatar Banks ...all my money gets transferred to Indian Banks :)
And in Qatar there is no "Standard" Practice in service ...see Globe travellers' answer to your comment..
I will have no say over my assets? So what I'm dead. I'm either in the ground or swimming in rivers of wine in heaven. Either way I don't need my earthly possessions
Dr. Mana - You might wanna check with HSBC again - because I opened my account last week and I did fill a nomination form which is primarily to move all funds to nominee incase anything happens to me ....I am pretty sure about this....
(too young to write a will but its in my to do list of life ;))
Jack, I specifically asked for that form to the bank but they said they had no such policy...the bank is HSBC. Anyone has any idea?
Dr Mana ..there is that Nominee form you have to fill...only then they claim the money.
Otherwise too they can claim the money ...but then would require the court to intervene...the bank cant give it to whoever turns up first!
Elegance, This has been on my mind since long but could not figure out how to go about it. Inquired the bank about what happens to our deposits if something happens to us but it has no clear idea. Can you guide me about where to go and sort out these issues here in Qatar?