Is there something similar going on with Wills and our collective attitude towards them?
Having a Will that you feel good about, that makes sense to you, and that will not likely lead to the implosion or explosion of your family, is really quite important.
And yet in spite of this, Wills are often treated as an afterthought; a box that has to be ticked.
Some lawyers routinely use Wills as a loss-leader, and some clients view them as irritation – something barely worth paying for.
Quite predictably, the net result can be clients getting exactly what they’ve asked and paid for: a ‘simple Will’.
What even is that?
Presumably, a ‘simple Will’ is a Will that says you leave everything first to your sweetheart of many years, and then to your children equally – those children, of course, being exclusively the product of your union with the aforesaid sweetheart.
And if your life has played out in exactly this fashion, then a ‘simple Will’ may just get you over the line.
But if you have:
remarried and you have children from your previous relationship; or
remarried and your new partner has children from their previous relationship; or
engaged in extra-nuptial relations outside of your union with your sweetheart of many years, and those extra-nuptial relations have produced children…
In order for a ‘simple Will’ to work, you need to have led a simple life.
If your life has been a little more ‘nuanced’, then you are going to need a Will that has been designed to accommodate your personal situation.