BLS WILLS
INFINITECONTACT
YOUR DIGITAL LEGACY
INFINITECONTACT
I offer a unique service for those wishing to plan for their future and their loved one’s futures. I call it InfiniteContact. First of all, I would urge that if you have a Will, make sure it is in a safe place and updated if needed.
If you do not have a Will, you should make one immediately. You do not want to cause any unnecessary difficulties after you’re gone and you do not want to place an unnecessary burden on your family if there is no will. Make a list of who gets what so there can be no disputes and, hopefully, no hard feelings. Make sure you have a burial policy so that any financial burden doesn’t fall on your family. Consider writing letters to your children for them to find after you’re gone, letting them know how much they mean to you.
Decide now what you want to happen medically at the end of life. Do you want all measures taken to try and save you, or do you want no extreme measures taken? Sign the documents now. Don’t leave that decision to your family. It can be devastating. If you get your affairs in order now, you won’t have to worry about it later and it won’t go undone if you die suddenly or become in any way incapacitated.Make your Will. It is relatively cheap and can be absolutely invaluable.
Here are two things you absolutely cannot argue with.
Number One - your loved ones, your children and your grandchildren are spectacularly wonderful.
Number Two - sorry, but you are going to die.Do you want to be a part of your loved one’s lives after you’re gone? You may not be around in person to attend the big events in their lives - when they marry, when they excel at something, even their birthdays. And what about the tough times they’re going to have.
Wouldn’t you love to be able to be there for them in some way. With InfiniteContact you can. Infinite Contact is like a time capsule that allows you to remain connected with your loved ones and be part of their lives for years to come.
With InfiniteContact, you can make a meaningful Video Will to place alongside your paper Will. You can also prepare Videos that will allow you to stay in touch with your loved ones at those special moments that occur throughout a life. I will help you to create meaningful messages in the form of video, audio or just text messages.
I will safely store those contacts and, working with a Trustee you will appoint, and Iwill pass them on to your loved ones at exactly the right moment.InfiniteContact also allows you to organize and securely store important account and password information.
What is a Video Will and are Video Wills legal and binding?
A Video Will does not take the place of a paper Will, instead, it adds to it. You can use the Video Will as a place for you to do your emotional explaining. The paper Will does your legal explaining and it covers you legally. You will have peace of mind because you have all the legalities covered but in addition, you have the enormous pleasure and satisfaction of saying everything you want to say, in the form of an intimate and professionally prepared Video Will.
For more reasons why you should make your Video Will, click here.
Many people quite rightly believe that the average written Will can be cold and unfeeling. Do you really want your final communication with your loved ones to talk about ‘giving and bequeathing’ things to them. Or ‘renouncing all previous Wills and testamentary dispositions heretofore made by me’? If you’re like me, you will want something more personal than that. What people want to do is to put some of their own personality into their end of life message. They want to leave a real legacy. That’s what I can help you to do.You appoint a Trustee and work with your Trustee to give you the opportunity to offer the right messages at the right times, even after you’re gone.
Contact me at any time. I can help.
PREPARING YOUR VIDEO WILL and VIDEO/SPOKEN/TEXT MESSAGESVIDEO WILL
After speaking with me, I can help you prepare your Will. When it’s finalised, I will advise that you ask your solicitor to check it out to ensure it’s all legal and correct, particularly if there are difficult legal aspects involved. Once this has been finalised, you can start the fun part - creating your video will.I will ask you to complete a questionnaire concerning the content of the Video Will. From then it’s easy and it’s exciting.
1. I will help you write your script.
2. I visit you and record the video.
3. I will store the video safely and permanently.
That’s it! You don’t need to a buy an expensive video camera or employ a professional production company. I will do it all for you.
VIDEO/SPOKEN/TEXT MESSAGES
I will take instructions from you and discuss what type of contact you would like to have with your loved ones into the future. Whether it’s a video to be received prior to a wedding or other special occasion, or a spoken or written message to be passed on in times of crisis or difficulty, we can help. Creating these contacts will be exciting and fun and will be emotionally very satisfying and fulfilling. Once the preparation has been finalised, you can start the fun part - creating your video or spoken or text message.
Again, I will ask you to complete a questionnaire concerning the content and I will help you write your script. If required, I will then visit you and record the video. I will then store the video safely and permanently.
That’s it! You don’t need to a buy an expensive video camera or employ a professional production company. I do it all.
10 REALLY GOOD REASONS TO MAKE A VIDEO WILL
You know you should make a Will but it never seems to be a top priority. There are always more important things to do. Here are the reason why making a Will, and in particular a Video Will, should be number one on your to do list.
If you make a Will, you cannot be absolutely certain there will not be a dispute about your Will, but you can substantially reduce the chances of this happening. There is nothing worse than a happy family breaking up because of a fight over money or property following the death of a loved one. When it comes to money and land, it is a sad fact that in many cases, blood unfortunately is not thicker than money or land.
Make a Will and you can substantially reduce the chance of something like this happening. Making a Video Will is even more effective. You can be more personal. You can explain your final wishes in your own words. A Video Will can help show that you made your Will carefully and confidently and will hopefully undermine any claims that you didn’t understand what you were doing or that you were being put under pressure.
Who would you prefer to decide who should receive your assets – you or the State? If you do not make a Will then the government decides who gets what. Is that what you want?If you have young children, who will look after them if you are not around?
Maybe your partner will still be around but maybe he or she will not and in those circumstances, again, the State may make decisions on your behalf if you have not made a Will. Is that what you want? By all means, set out the basics in your written Will but perhaps you would like to leave a personal message or instructions for the guardians you wish to appoint. You can do this in the Video Will.
If you make a Will you make the probate process quicker and cheaper. Most important of all, in our view, you make all the decisions concerning your estate and in doing so you can minimise taxes, expenses and delays.I have just mentioned taxes but that really deserves a separate heading. Nowadays when a person can have a fairly substantial insurance policy or property that can have a significant value, it is important to avoid a large chunk of these assets passing to the State if you can avoid it. Again the crucial factor here is that you want to be in control of who receives your estate and you can do that by making a Will and with the appropriate planning.
You get to choose who administers your estate. You decide who is the best person for the job. You decide who is the most honest, reliable and organized person to do the job. That person may not necessarily be your eldest child and in fact it may not necessarily one of your children. Whoever it is, it is your decision and you can name that person in a Will. You may wish to leave a personal explanation for your decision and you can do this in your Video Will.
If you do not leave a Will then the State decides who gets what. You may want one person to inherit more than another person. Maybe one person has special requirements that you would like to look after and maybe the others are already well looked after from a financial point of view. Make a paper Will and you get to make this decision.
Make a Video Will and you can set out your thinking in your own words and by looking straight at your loved ones, you can satisfy them that you have not been put under any pressure and you’re making your decisions freely and that you fully understand everything you are saying.If you make a Will you can make provision for specific individuals or organizations to receive legacies or gifts. If you do not make a Will, this will not happen. You may have a favorite charity or you may want one particular child to receive a specific item of jewelry or some other specific object. Make a Will and you can ensure that this happens.
Make a Video Will and you can explain your thinking and send a very personal message - something you might not feel like doing in front of a solicitor. If you make a Will, you can change it at any time. Wills only become absolutely binding once a person dies. Prior to that, if your circumstances change – if people are born or die, if you just have a change of mind or your circumstances change, which they tend to do, you can change your Will and cater for these changes. When you make a Video Will, you can explain why you are making these changes.
WILL QUESTIONNAIRE
Your Personal Information -
You’ll need to provide details about yourself - your full name, date of birth, current address, relationship status and names, addresses and dates of birth of any children you have.
Your Estate -
You’ll need to consider what assets (items of value) you own, including those in your sole name and those owned in joint names. This might include property, bank accounts, stocks and shares, vehicles, foreign assets and anything else of value such as jewellery. You should also consider what debts and liabilities you have such as a mortgage or outstanding loans. This will help determine the net value of your Estate.
Your Beneficiaries -
You’ll then need to decide who you want to receive your Estate when you die.There are different ways you can do this. You might leave everything to one person, such as your spouse. However, you should also decide who should inherit your Estate if your main beneficiary dies before you. So your Will could say that if your spouse dies before you, your two children should receive your Estate in equal shares.
Or you might want to make specific gifts (such as gifts of personal property) or leave fixed cash gifts to certain people or organisations. So you could request that your wedding ring is left to your goddaughter Alice, and that €5,000 is paid to a particular charity*. You can then say that whatever is leftover after payment of earlier gifts, liabilities and administration expenses (called your ‘Residuary Estate’) should be given to your son James.You’ll need to provide the full names and addresses of all your beneficiaries.
Your Executors -
Your Executors are the people who will look after your affairs after you die. It’s a job that carries a lot of responsibility, so it’s important to choose someone capable of carrying out the role. Most people will name someone they know and trust to be their Executors. You can choose one person although you can have more, and you can also nominate Replacement Executors in case those you name are unable or unwilling to act. If you are leaving your whole Estate to one person then it is common to appoint that beneficiary to be the Executor as well.If you’re choosing individuals as your Executors then you’ll need to provide their full names and addresses.
Legal Guardians for Children -
If you have children who are under the age of 18, you’ll need to make provisions for them. This includes naming a Legal Guardian who will be legally responsible for your children, should you and their other parent both die while they are under the age of 18.You’ll need to provide the full names and addresses of your Legal Guardians.
You might also want to consider putting financial arrangements in place for your children. For example, you might want their inheritance to be placed in a Trust which they can only access at a certain age.
If your Will involves the creation of a Trust, we will advise that you obtain independent legal advice. If you do not have a solicitor, we have a country wide panel of solicitors we can recommend to you.
Other Wishes -
You’ll then have the opportunity to record any other wishes that you have. Usually you’ll be asked if you have any specific funeral wishes, although you can leave it to your loved ones to sort out if you prefer.If you’ve excluded someone from your Will, you might want to explain why you have made this decision. This can substantially help to prevent successful claims being made against your Estate
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
John prepares a Video Will and 10 individual video messages to be passed on to his wife and three children each Christmas for 10 years. Our charge to cover preparation, storage and circulation of the Videos for up to 25 years is €450 for the first year and then just €100 per year from them on.
Mary only wants a Video Will - no storage. Our charge will be €450.
Peter wants a two video messages and two audio messages and wants them stored and distributed in due course. Our charge to cover preparation, storage and circulation of the Videos for up to 25 years is €450 for the first year and then just €100 per month from them on. Our fee for the preparation, recording and storing of audio messages will be €200. No other charge.