From Serious to Entertaining: Blogs on Legal Matters

There's a common misconception among the young and single population that there's no great need to have a will or estate plan, because at this moment in their young lives, a will serves no worthwhile purpose. The assumption is that they are either too young or own little assets to require a will. Additionally, they also assume a will is expensive. For a young single individual with little assets, a modest will including healthcare, financial powers of attorney as well as an advanced healthcare directive will provide them with an adequate, affordable and effective cover at this moment in their lives.

Advance health care directive

In the will, you can specify the degree of life sustaining treatment you wish to receive if you're in a terminal medical condition or permanently unconscious and unable to speak for yourself. For example, you can choose whether or not to be kept in life supporting machines if you have no chance of ever rising out of a coma.

Health care power of attorney

If you're not stuck in an end of life scenario but cannot communicate, you can appoint a trusted person to act on your behalf in making medical decisions rather than leaving those judgments up to strangers who have no clue regarding what you would have desired.

Financial power of attorney

Note that social media accounts are thought of as property. Through a financial power of attorney, you can appoint an agent who will take responsibility of managing your social media accounts and what's to be done with them if you become incapacitated or otherwise incapable of managing them at any duration in your lifetime. With a will, you actually choose who you want to manage your social media accounts and what you would prefer done with them in the aftermath of your death. Due to the lack of proper will planning, there have been a number of cases in which friends or relatives of the deceased took control of deceased's social media accounts and shared confidential information or posted stuff the original account owner would never have permitted or which inflicted needless distress to family members and friends.

Personal effects

Though to you they may be of paltry monetary value, those photos, high school yearbooks, personal diaries and other personal effects can be of tremendous sentimental value to your family and friends. By specifying in your will who gets what, you can make sure your personal effects end up in the hands of the right people.