In the grand scheme of My Grown Up Life, this is the breakdown; I’ve been a mother for 11.5 years and married the same. We purchased our home 4 years ago and completed our Grown Up prerequisites by adding two dogs and another baby to the family.
Job done! Adulting complete!
Except, I forgot the paperwork. The Life Admin that you push to the back of the to-do list along with equally exciting things like road tolls, dog registrations, filling out warranty cards and going to the dental hygienist.
And making a will. I forgot to do that too.
Our family situation is one shared by many Kiwis in that I met Dave overseas, we eventually returned to New Zealand, leaving all of his family behind who live in the southern States of America. In terms of holidays this is great! Our boys also both have dual citizenship, which they may choose to utilise when they are older, but for now, we/they stay in New Zealand.
When you have kids, at some point your mind will turn to worst-case-scenario thinking. It may happen in the middle of the night whilst rocking your baby to sleep, or it may happen after a particularly close call with a bad driver. It will be confronting and upsetting but at some point, as parents, we will all consider what we want for our kids if we pass away before them.
What Dave and I want, is for the boys to remain in New Zealand without any unnecessary custody issues.
So, in the interest of adulting properly, I’ve just finalised my very first Will (via an app no less!) to ensure that my little Kiwi kids stay here until they are old enough to decide for themselves against Donald Trump and handguns #kiddingNOTkidding.
I used the Kinly App to create my Will, which is comprehensive, legally valid and took all of 20 minutes max. Now that I’ve done it, read it and understood it (it’s only 4 pages and in PLAIN ENGLISH!) I can see the massive value and importance in preparing a Will to protect who and what you love.
My Mum and Dad went through the process of updating their Wills the old-school way – multiple expensive lawyer visits etc – when my Dad was already terminally ill. This heaped more angst and an increased financial burden onto an already very stressful time in their lives – a situation Dave and I are keen to avoid at all costs!
It’s pretty amazing that one of the most important and necessary documents I might ever sign in my life was also one of the easiest to prepare a) by myself b) without the hassle and expense of a lawyer c) in my own time, saving the draft and continuing as need be.
You guys, you could totally smash out your Will using Kinly while you are waiting in the car for the kids’ sports practice to finish! Too easy.
Five Reasons you need to make a Will asap
- Leaving clear instructions as to your wishes should help eliminate any family dramas during what is going to be a really difficult time.
- Your kids! If you want your kids to be sent to a boarding school run by buddhist monks in Paekakariki, you’ve got to write that shit down! The only way people will follow your wishes is if they actually KNOW what your wishes are.
- When you pass away intestate (without a Will) there can often be a delay before your closest relatives are allowed to deal with your estate and get their hands on your millions……..of Little Shop minis. Help your rellies out but defining who your executors are.
- If you want your kindy teacher to reap the benefits of your quilting hobby, you can bequeath her ALL of your creations by specifying this in the Kinly App.
- Funeral directives, organ donation……..these are tricky topics to discuss over the dinner table. You don’t have to talk it out, you just have to tick the YES/NO box in your Kinly App.
Done and dusted.
To try this amazing service and get your adulting admin in line, head to www.kinly.co.nz to find out more and download the app.
WIN WITH KINLY!
I want you to make your own Will using Kinly so one lucky person is going to win a 12 month subscription to the service PLUS a $100 Countdown Gift Card and a $50 Gift Card to Spend at The Warehouse!!!
To enter just comment below – I’d love to hear your initial thoughts about using Kinly to make your Will!
Competition closes 22/8/16, NZ residents only. Thanks to Kinly for making this post possible!
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