Day 21: Make a Will (15 Minute Prepping Projects)

Welcome to DAY 21 of our 15 Minute Prepping Projects series. Today we will working on making a will. If you already have a will, take a few minutes to make sure everything is up to date with it.

Every day for the month of September we will celebrate National Preparedness Month by undertaking a small task to help us get more prepared. Do as few or as many days as you want. Jump in at any time. Do them out of order, or more than one in a day. And feel free to share what you are doing!

Click here and scroll to the bottom of the post to view all the past days’ projects.

A will is something that everyone should have regardless of your marital situation, how many assets you have, or whether you have young kids, grown kids, or no kids. Without a will the courts will decide what happens to your children and your assets, and your family that is left behind could be in for a mess.

I took a very basic estate planning class at my church many years ago and blogged about it here. I am not giving legal advice beyond just saying make sure to get this done if you haven’t already! You can prepare a will by yourself, print it out, and sign it in front of two witnesses, which will make it a valid legal document. This is something you can do today with your fifteen minutes. I would still recommend going to a lawyer to discuss some more in depth estate planning but if you have NOTHING, then this is a good way to get started.

Your will should include the following items:

Nominate a guardian for any children you have
List your assets and how you want them distributed
Name an executor of your estate to take care of fulfilling your wishes

I found a website that walks you through a series of questions to help you put together your own will for free. I haven’t tried it myself yet but I’m going to give it a whirl today. Feel free to check it out here if you are looking for a free and easy solution for now.

Share Your Results

Did you make your will today? Or do you already have that in place? I’d love to hear how in depth your estate planning is. It’s something that is a struggle for me! Here are some ways you can share:

Instagram: Use #15minuteprep and tag @jodi_foodstoragemadeeasy on any post or story you do featuring your project. You can follow the hashtag to see everyone’s projects and if you tag me I will repost in my stories throughout the day (if your account is public).

Facebook: Comment on the PINNED posts in my Facebook Group (If you are not a member yet I will try to get you added within 24 hours so you can play along). The most recent day should show up at the top and you can scroll to the right to see past days. I will try to share some of these to Facebook stories as well (no names will be used, don’t worry!)

Text me: If you are not already signed up to get the daily challenges via text just text 15minuteprep to 717-788-3663. You can always reply to the daily text with your “report” so I can check in on you.