Do I need a will?

[toptop]

I'm still young. I just turned 18 and will be going off to college in a few months. Do I need a will? If I do need a will, what are some of the reasons that it's important for me to have it. I don't plan on dying anytime soon and since I'm still in college I don't have much in the way of assets, so doesn't make sense at all for me to even bother creating one?

[ua_guy]

You're an adult now, so I don't think there's a thing as being "too young" to have a will. Death sometimes makes an unexpected visit.

Wills become really important when you have specific wishes or plans for the division of your assets and your estate as a whole, meaning everything you own or for which you are responsible.

Right now while you're a student and have relatively few assets, a will wouldn't be a bad thing to draft up if you have specific wishes for burial, or cremation, or if you have something of sentimental or real value that should be given to someone else if you were to die.

Part of that is also coming up with an advance directive for your care if you become ill and are unable to make decisions for yourself. Some people do not want to be resuscitated/kept alive and have orders that the surviving family holds and will provide to your healthcare providers. These things are tough to think about, but if you end up in a coma and recovery isn't certain, do you want to be kept alive in a vegetative state? Or, would you want someone to "pull the plug" so you can rest in peace?

At any rate, it's never too early to have a will or to tell your wishes upon death to your family or to document it somewhere and designate an executor who will manage the process upon your death. Is it something you should do tomorrow? You're young, so probably not. But your heart sounds like it's in the right place. When I was your age, I trusted my family would do the right things. In fact, I'm in my 30's now with an estate and DON'T have a will. I'm in poor shape with regards to getting my estate in order if something were ever to happen. I've been meaning to get on this in the last year or so.

"Get Your **** Together" is a good resource and place to start thinking about this kind of stuff if you are thinking about it. Google it.