Today I discovered that a man who I had been pursuing gently with a view to making this new will had died, unexpectedly [1]. Not after a long illness, where one might expect to have time to make preparations, but suddenly. Not in the first flush of youth, certainly, but in the prime of working life – when one might be looking forward to retirement, but not there yet.
He leaves an old will, adult children and an ex-wife. And he did not want to spare the time from his busy schedule to make a will.
Which leads me to the thought that when making wills, it might be something that could be reviewed regularly – like getting your car serviced – and if you do this regularly, death might lose some of its sting, becoming something that is routine enough to be dealt with and put aside, rather than imbued with fear.
And that if you review the documents regularly, then if the unexpected should happen, you are in the right place – prepared.
[1] he had approached me first, but then had been busy, then on holiday, then busy…
Wills and the rest 