Sadly, statistically, nearly two thirds of Americans die without a will? It is a really scary the mess left behind by not having directions for your final wishes spelled out legally. Look at the mess of the late Pop Star Prince. Do you really want some stranger, a judge, deciding who gets your property, or your children or your beloved pets? Without it, this is your current scenario. It doesn’t have to be that way.

According to recent surveys, of the 64% of Americans that did not purchase a will, sited they “never got around to it.” More Americans have life insurance than a will, and Americans with life insurance, according to LIMRA, are under insured by 70%. What about death scares us so much that we don’t feel the need to take care of our loved ones after we die? Is it the cost? Is it thinking about death? Is it just taking the time?

The traditional way of purchasing a will is to set up an appointment with an attorney to start the process. The meeting can take an hour or so for the average hard working American. Once it is written, then the second meeting with the attorney is set to go over the documents. This can take another hour. Typically, depending on your geographic location, the cost for the attorney will run between $600 and $1,000 per will, or $1,200 to $2,000 per couple which is certainly not pocket change. When life happens later and changes need to be made to your will due to a divorce or birth of a child, then another meeting for hundreds of dollars will need to be set up with the attorney again to facilitate those changes.

Today, there are online websites that allow you to purchase a will from the comfort of your living room couch in the time you would watch a movie. This is a more affordable route to purchase your will. Just be careful, most sites are set up as sales funnels to draw you in deeper into the process and sell you more documentation than you will really every need. Do your homework first. The three main documents most working Americans will need is their last will and testament, a living will and a power of attorney. Don’t over pay for documents meant for the wealthy, unless you have a lot of assets in the millions of dollars. Don’t purchase too little or pay too much, but get your will done today. Your loved ones deserve that much from you, don’t they?

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.”—Napoleon Hill

Image by Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net

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Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, grandfather of 2, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, employee benefit specialist, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger, author and team leader with over 30 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.