The One To-Do List Item That Protects Everyone You Love

August is Make-A-Will Month. If you have a house, a car, savings, kids, or even a pet you’d want cared for, you already have an estate worth protecting. 

And you’re not alone if you haven’t gotten to it yet. Only one in four adults has a formal will, and just 13% have a living trust. That’s exactly why this month exists: to give everyone a nudge toward something that protects a family’s future instead of leaving it to the courts.

Why a Will Matters

Angie Schmucker, New Day’s COO who has worked in the planned giving field for more than a decade, shares, “I’ve learned in my work over the years that one of the best reasons to have a will is because it facilitates all of the decisions that need to be made at the end of life. It takes so many burdens off the shoulders of your loved ones.”

For many families, two things matter most:

• Protecting your children. In your will, you get to choose who would care for them, rather than leaving that decision to a court.
• Protecting your partner. If you’re not married, this matters even more. In Michigan, an unmarried partner has no automatic right to inherit anything or access accounts without a will in place.

A Will Is the Right First Step, But It’s Not the Only Tool

A will lets you name who gets what, choose who settles your affairs, and spares your family the guesswork that can turn grief into disagreement.

Here’s the catch: a will only works through probate court. That means your information, your assets, your instructions – it all becomes part of the public record as it moves through the court process.

We asked David Wakefield, estate planning attorney at Wakefield Law, PC, to help us understand the options that can keep an estate plan private. He pointed out a few tools worth knowing about:

• A trust. Think of it like a lockbox. While you’re alive, you hold the keys. You can move things in and out, and change your mind as life changes. The moment you’re gone, the lockbox seals. No one can open it or change what’s inside. Your assets go exactly where you said, privately, without a courtroom involved.
• A beneficiary designation. This is the simple version: you name a beneficiary directly on an account, like checking, savings, retirement, life insurance, or investments. It’s usually free, and you can update it any time.
• A Lady Bird deed. This is for your home or other real estate. You name who you want to receive the property after your lifetime, while keeping full control of it today. You can still live there, sell it, or change your mind. Later, the property passes directly to the person or organization you named, without going through probate court.

No matter what shape your plan takes, this is your opportunity to make sure the people and causes you love are cared for exactly as you intend.

When you sit down to make your plan, or if you already have one in place, we hope you’ll consider including a gift to New Day. The same plan that protects your own family can also make sure a family facing cancer has the support they need to get through it.

It’s easier than you might think. View sample bequest language, or browse our full Planned Giving Guide online. 

And if you’ve already included New Day in your will, thank you! Please let us know so we can welcome you into the Petoskey Stone Circle, our planned giving society for those committed to supporting families facing cancer.

The plans you make today can protect the people you love and make sure New Day families are supported for generations to come.