I have a confession to make, I have been an advocate of the High Court for more than 25 years and a certified estate planner for almost 10 years. I have advised countless people on the benefits of having a will, but it is only recently that I finished mine! I am ashamed to say, I procrastinated for years about this and my will was in draft format for almost a decade. So, I’ve been asking myself…why? The simple explanation is that I was afraid to face my mortality.
Facing my mortality has made me more empathetic to the way my clients feel when they come to me to make a will or to plan their estates for succession. We, lawyers, are trained to handle the technical aspects of these tasks, but no one prepares you to be counsel to a person who is facing their mortality and all the emotional upheaval that comes with it.
