Rubato 1 said:
That would seem to depend on the individual. But I think it is a priority to know what will happen with your estate when you go, and if you desire something else, then to be sure you do have a valid will.
Or is it a bad idea, giving our children money they did not work for?
Isn't
somebody going to get money they did not work for,
if there is any money left after all is taken care of? If you don't think your children should get it, for whatever reason, obviously you can choose otherwise.
I know some that say "I'll give it all to the church, so I know it is used for a good cause."
Should the church get money it "did not work for?" Leaving it (or some or much of it) to a church is obviously an option, but one thing to consider is that you don't know for certain that it will b e "used for a good cause." Even if you are totally convinced your church now is responsible with its funds, that may not be so in the future. I would prefer more specific designation than just "to the church;" to missions, to building fund, for examples.
I am familiar, and was somewhat involved, in a case about 26 years ago, in which the widowed lady that lived across the street somehow made friends with this man and joined this man's (Baptist) church-- but I don't know which of those 2 events came first. Anyway, this lady-- who I thought was 'mean' when I was a kid-- began to like me and asked for a few favors for which she paid me, though sometimes I declined the payment. She eventually asked me to help her pay her bills writing the checks that she signed, and I could see that she was "losing it." Sometimes on the signature line she wrote "Thank You," or wrote the monetary amount on the payee line, thinking she hadn't written anything on those lines. And she was becoming paranoid, calling the police a few times to report a break-in when there was no sign of it, for example. Meanwhile, she was getting more friendly with this man, who usually drove her to church and came to her house a couple of times during the week, and my dad said she told him that her family didn't contact her unless they wanted money [she had owned a cafe years earlier and had quite a bit of it]. Finally she died, and later her will was contested by her family. She had changed her will to give all of her estate to that man and the church they both attended (I don't know amounts or proportions). While I don't really know her family's motives or that man's motives, I was aware, as I mentioned, that she was 'losing it' during those last 2 or 3 years, so if she changed her will during that time (it seems inevitable she did) that she was not really of "sound mind" to do it. So I conclude that man befriended her and probably turned her against her family largely-- if not completely-- for the reason of getting her estate, with the church possibly being enough of a 'cover' to make his act look legitimate-- possibly 'justified' in his own sight.
So that story is one reason I am inclined to be negative about willing your estate to your church, and more so to a new friend in old age. That man did prevail in the case, got her money and sold her house. While I realize this part is hearsay, even though it's a quarter century later, I also heard that that man did the same thing to other widowed ladies in a similar position. If so, he was a legal con artist, and I have no idea if the church (with which I know he was highly reputable) was suspicious of him, or perhaps a
willing party to this.
