I have been helping service personnel with their finances for nearly a decade now and also have firsthand experience of the Military life having been married to a service person for over ten years. So I don’t need to tell you how difficult things can be when it comes to managing money, finances and general personal admin. Being an unmarried couple or a single parent can make this even more tricky. Now days more families are blended then are not which can add another layer of complexity. When it comes to making sure your Will is right for you there are a few things to consider. Firstly do you need advice? Unless you have limited to no assets and no children the answer to this is usually yes. Although the Military offer serving personal a free basic Will this is a Do-It-Yourself Will and doesn’t come with any advice, the onus on the person completing it to get it right which is always a risk. There is no place to name guardians for your children or to nominate an executor to carry out your wishes. Below is a list of the top things to consider when looking to make a Will.
- Who would I want to look after my children?
- Who would be a good choice of executor (this is the person who does all paperwork and also pays all debts from the estate)
- Would I like reserve beneficiaries if my main ones weren’t here?
- If children are under 18 who would I like to look after their inheritance until they are old enough?
- Would my partner/spouse and I like to ensure our children’s inheritance is protected if either one of us remarried?
- Is there anyone I don’t want to inherit?
- Do I have specific items or monetary amounts I’d like to leave as gifts?
All of the above are things a professional Will writer would go through with you to ensure the people you love would get what you intended them to. Something else which can be very useful to serving personal and their spouses is a Lasting Power of Attorney, This is a legal documents that gives a nominated person the legal power to make decisions about your property and financial assets (or health and welfare or both) This can be particularly important if the serving person goes away for long periods of time or if frequently uncontactable, especially where they may have things like rental properties which could without the owners consent not be managed or any requires carried out.