What is the benefit of writing a will?

1. One of the major reasons for a will is that the wishes of the testator is carried out upon his demise. A will been a testamentary document made during the life time of the testator, voices the mindset of the deceased on the way he wants his estate to be shared among his beneficiaries. It determines the who, what and when of the testator’s desires.
2. A Will helps the testator of the testamentary documents give his estate to those he truly wants to be beneficiaries. He might want to disinherit some of his relatives for some reason or he might feel that they are underserving of his labour so he can give to those he truly desires to benefit.
3. The testator is at an advantage of stating how the properties will be shared and the extent upon which he wants a beneficiary to benefit from his estate. Sometimes, testators might for whatever reason give a someone who is not a member of the family some part of their estate as a reward for loyalty or otherwise. Other times they might want their property to dissolve to a charity of their choice. This can only be streamlined in a will.
4. A will protects the estate of the testator. The executors of the will are enjoined to make sure that the property of the deceased is shared in the way the decease desires and the executors have a duty of trust to take good care of the estate of the deceased before they transfer the estate to the beneficiary.
5. A will helps reduce the element of dispute. When there is a will the chances that dispute might occur is minimised to the barest minimum. This is because a will can serve as evidence of the testator’s intentions should any legal issue arise as to how the estate is to be distributed amongst the benefactors.
6. A will allows the testator to make gift and donations that are close to his heart and this will be carried out by the executors of the Will upon the demise of testator.
7. A will is subject to change. If you make a will today, you can add or subtract or even restructure through codicils. This means that no matter the additional properties or lack thereof, the testator can at any point either add or remove a beneficiary or executor as the case may be during his lifetime.
8. A will minimises taxes. The Taxes an estate in a will pays are usually reduced
9. A will takes into consideration the interests of a minor beneficiary. Where there are minors to a will for instance, where the testator’s children are still minors, the will decides who acts as guardian, who executes the property for the minors and when the minors will become owners of the property.
10. A will provides for those you choose. The choice of who will benefit from your estate is given to you by a will. You can state how you want your family to be provided for.

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