Death/Wills
This is the final unit in Kids-n-Money and not one people like to talk about! Currently
about 30% of people die before reaching retirement age, so you and your kids have a
good chance of living a long and fulfilling life.
However, you should know what will happen to your estate when you die. If you die
without having drawn up a will, the courts will decide who gets any money or assets
you may have owned. The courts usually award in favour of the closest next of kin
which is most likely to be your spouse and kids, but without a will there is always the
risk that what usually happens may not happen for you!
Right now you should have a will and life insurance just in case you unfortunately
end up being in the 30% who die prematurely. You would not want your spouse
and kids to be left without money to pay for their needs in your absence while your
kids are too young to support themselves.
Apart from a will you should also have an enduring power of attorney and possibly
an advanced health/care directive set up so if you have an accident or debilitating
illness, that renders you temporarily (or permanently) unable to make your own
decisions, these documents set out who can make decisions about your health and
financial matters on your behalf. Without this, your affairs and the money in your bank account may be frozen.
Your kids do not need to know all about the details of this in childhood, but you
should let them know that you have these documents and plans in place so they
know they are secure if something should happen to you. When they become adults,
you would certainly advise them to get professional help in setting up these
documents once they have kids/dependents of their own.
We at the Spending Planners Institute trust that you have benefitted from the Kids-nMoney resources. Your Spending Planner is extremely interested in helping you and
your kids to succeed with money so make it a priority to have them working beside
you to achieve this outcome.
