b'TRANSITION PLANNINGHow to Write a Will With Joy!EVERYONE HAS A story of loss. Strokes, mentalexcellent agricultural lawyers.illness, heart attack. The story I want you to change is Its a good idea to destroy old copies of old will not having a will. Its time to act. documents. I advocate the giving gifts with a warm How on earth can you write a will with joy? hand, not a cold one.1. Know that writing a will document and signing5. Educate your executorsUse an executor it wont kill youA l997 University of Guelph studychecklist to get ready to be a great executor. All found 20 per cent of farmers didnt have a will, thinkinglawyers say no way to handwritten wills, so take your if I make, I will then I will die! Pretty strange logic.handwritten wishes to a legal office and have a legal Writing a will didnt kill my mother, an asthma infectionwill written up. DIY is great for house renovations but ELAINE FROESE,did. During her palliative time her drafted will wasntnot for your multi-million-dollar estate. Yikes! I met author, speaker, coach, farmsigned, as she was comatose. Even the best laid outthis rancher whose wife had gone to get her will done partner. Life isplans are derailed when documents arent signed.properly, but hes still dragging his feet!precious. Death is not to be feared.2. Have you signed your current will?Do it.6. Watch Finding Fairness in Farm Transition on Visit elainefroese. Remember to finish off the work you started with yourYouTubeI suspect you feel writing a will with joy is com/shop/ for communicationlawyer. Itll likely take three visits to the law office. Youimpossible because you and your spouse are fighting resources tocan now visit your lawyer over Zoom, and can sign theabout what to give your children. Firstly, you can draft get the tough conversationsdocuments digitally, so you dont have to physicallyyour own will if your spouse refuses to do theirs. The started.leave your remote farm to get this done. One visit todeceased who dies without a will is the one going draft the will or update your current one. The next toto hoop the other spouse with chaos. My definition talk about the new draft to make sure it meets yourof fairness is helping everyone be successful. Ask intentions. Finally, a third to sign it and take your copyeach of your beneficiaries to tell you what they expect home to read to your family. Ask on the call to makefrom your estate, and ask What does fairness look your appointment what the range of costs is going to be.like to you? Your assets are yours. You get to choose The more complex your will is, the more youll invest. regardless of the expectations of adult beneficiaries.3. Seriously Elaine, must I to read it to my family? 7. Find joy in giving gifts with a warm hand and This is where the joy part comes in. Most folks I knowtell the story behind the giftIn The Gentle Art of dont relish surprises. When you drafted your willSwedish Death Cleaning Margareta Magnusson says you had to choose a trustworthy executor. Hopefullyat age 65 we should downsize our stuff as a gift to our this is an adult who is good with details, timely andchildren, so they dont have to wade through it when accountable for their actions. One of our executors is awe pass on. When you write your will, you can add a lawyer family member plus our successor. In order toletter or list of possessions you wish to go to certain get ready to execute a will with timely skill, it helps tofolks. It would be helpful for the executor to have a know what is in it. When people know the plans youcopy of this list. I asked my family which pieces of art have upon your death, you get to explain your intent asthey would like and was surprised that only one piece to why you laid out your wishes the way the will states.was valued by my sister, and one by my children. Your This is a healthy conversation where you get to talktreasured stuff might be junk to others.about your why in how you did your will. 8. Joy comes when you know you have enough 4. Eliminate confusion of termsI recently coachedmoneyOutdated wills were made decades ago a farm family who found an older will years afterwhen interest rates were different and land values the fathers passing. This created huge conflict whenmuch lower. A good financial plan to carry you into the family realized dad had changed his originalyour nineties is wise. If you are going to run out of intentions. Are folks allowed to change their plans?money, check with your beneficiaries and children to Yes. The problem is when dead peoples wishes keepsee who is going to help you continue to pay bills as fueling the fire of conflict for those beneficiaries whoyou age and require more care. Have a transparent have made financial decisions based on the currentconversation about your financial concerns with your reality of the legal will presented. family, and your financial planner. Remember to Im not a lawyer, and this column isnt to be takensupport charities if you have the means to do so.as legal advice. I leave that good work to my CanadianIf you are like the 53 per cent in my seminar who Association of Farm Advisors colleagues who aredont have a will, I challenge you to do it by Aug. 1. 42SPUDSMART.COM Summer 2022'