InTouch Magazine Articles Archive

Issue 19, June 2008

Making a Will - a Bare Necessity

By Dr. Andonis Vassiliades.

It is surprising that in contemporary society where so many customs, norms and rules of conduct are not what they used to be and, for better or worse, almost everything is taken for granted, some things still retain their power over us and guide us to act in ways which sometimes go against our interest and the interests of those we love and care for. One such matter is our resistance to making a Will. The act of making a Will costs relatively little money but goes a long way in protecting people’s last wishes with regard to the distribution of their estate which may also involve many personal items of sentimental value.

As a result, many people die without leaving a Will and the laws of intestacy apply to their estate at great cost.
Resistance to making a Will has something to do with our mortality. The word “Will” brings to mind one of the strongest taboos even in the year 2008: death. Specifically, this not just any death but in fact our death. The deed of writing up a Will is wrongly seen as a macabre exercise because it is as though we are expected to engage in a discussion about our own death and to make up arrangements for our after death execution of our last wishes and distribution of our wealth. Indeed, as an illustration, any mention of a Will to elder relatives in order to protect their interests and those of the beneficiaries (and which can help to reduce the grief at the time of death by making the arrangements for the distribution of the estate an easier process) is often met by such loved ones with suspicion about our motives.

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