I live with the optimism of a person who will live pass 100 years old, but nevertheless I like to update my will every year.

No, I don’t go to the process of having it notarized. I am too cheap and lazy to do that. I write my will every December and then I ask two friends to be my witness, and then I put it on the top drawer of my desk. And every year I tell my executor where to find my will.

Writing a will is a great exercise and a reflection of who is important in my life and who is not; who needs my help and who doesn’t need it.

I kicked some one out of my will

This year I had a falling out with a friend. This person was to receive $10,000 if I died. But that was so 2022. Now for 2023 that person is no longer there. It was a silly disagreement, but we both decided to part our different ways.

I haven’t added anyone else in my will. My beneficiaries are mostly my family and a few close friends.

More for friends, less for family

Since most of the members of my family are well off (or at least better off than me), I have reduced their portion and I have increased the portion of some of my friends, who are mostly struggling artists. Now I keep in mind that I am an immigrant by myself, in Montreal. My friends have become my family and my blood family who live in other countries are a memory.

The composition of my assets

The way I do it is as follows:

I make an approximate inventory of my assets.

Throughout the years I have simplified my financial life as much as possible. I have gotten rid of my real estate because real estate is illiquid and it’s just too much work for the person who will be my executor, to put a property in the market, negotiate price, and deal with all the hassle of getting rid of a property.

100 % of my assets are in stocks. Everything can be sold within 5 minutes and the sale commission will probably not exceed more than $100.

I do have some debt to the government and some private debt as well. I will try to pay those off within the next few years, but in case I die those debts are a top priority. I have instructed my executor to pay off those debt within a few days of my death.

The day I die, my executor will go to my broker’s account, sell everything, and distribute it as instructed. It shouldn’t take more than a few hours of her day.

The physical stuff in my apartment has little value. Old furniture and kitchen stuff. Nothing to get sentimental about, it all can be given to the charity of my executor’s choice.

How I am dividing my wealth

The way I have it arrange is as follows:

I have a list of friends and distant family members who get a determinate amount of money, say $10K or $20K.

Then closer friend and closer family members who get a percentage of what’s left; 20% for one person, 20% for other, so on and so forth.

And that’s it.

I prefer to die with $0

To be honest. My final goal is to die empty. With 0$ in my bank account.

The accumulation stage of my life is almost finished. The next stage of my life is to enjoy the fruit of my labor.

If I see a friend who is in need, I would rather help that friend now, while I am alive, and see how that friend enjoys or uses my help, rather than to help that same friend after I am dead.

I plan my financial life with the assumption that I will live to 100. If I live longer than that, I will be screwed. I might have to rely on the generosity of the government. We will see… hopefully, I will be able to continue sharing my journey through this blog.

How often do you write your will?

And you? do you write a will every year? Every few years? Do you event think about it? Please share your thoughts.

Other personal finance blog posts

• Tip of the day: Never buy Gold or any Crypto assets
• Free money from the Quebec Government $400 to $600
• Breaking away from the 9 to 5 lifestyle