I read somewhere the other day a statistic that one in three people over the age of fifty or something like that would live to 100. I could be wrong. I could have misread it. But even if it’s not actually true, the weight of evidence suggests we’re all living a lot longer these days.
In contrast to my mum and dad who both died in their sixties – cancer and heart disease – I’m HOPING for a reasonably long life myself.
Nonetheless, at the age of forty-five I’m conscious that I need to have my “affairs” in order in case I’m hit by bus or affected by serious illness. And so that’s why a couple of weeks ago I went to a financial advisor, and why this week I went to make a will.
Until now I’ve never really had much of a desire to make a will. As well as the fairly common reason of not wanting to think about my own mortality, I don’t have a partner and I don’t have children. On top of that, it’s reasonably likely that all of the people I’d like to leave things behind for, will either die before me or soon afterwards.
So I had to sit down this week and think really hard about the “disposal of my assets” in the event of my death. That was a hard thing to do for reasons above. But eventually I hatched a plan in my mind and went along to the Public Trustee and made my will.
I chose the Public Trustee precisely because of the reason I could be “alone” when I die. I’m not meaning to be dramatic, but it’s worth considering that at this point in my life I don’t have a partner or children (the logical people to deal with such an event), and that my closest and immediate family lives in Lismore and Brisbane. So, although I’ve spoken to a family member about being my will’s executor, I’ve got the backup of the Public Trustee who can look after things in case there’s no one around.
“Can you TRUST this person?” was a question that I was asked on several occasions by the bloke looking after my will. I wonder if the same question would have been asked if the executor had been a partner and not a family member?
It was a fascinating process to go through as a single person without parents or dependents: who do I want to leave my assets to, and who would I trust to ensure it happens.
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