I don’t really like to talk or even think about anything related to death. But after many years and accumulating numerous — albeit small — assets that are scattered across different countries, that dreaded time finally came to prepare properly for my eventual demise and engage with a law firm to draft a will.

What I discovered in the course of this journey was that I did not need to engage with just one law firm; instead, I needed to engage with a law firm to get a will drafted in each country in which my assets were held. Lesson learnt – the downside of diversification!

For this article, I thought I would share my recent experience in preparing my estate, and some of the lessons I learnt along the way.

First, what is the purpose of a will?

A will, officially known as a “last will and testament”, serves several essential purposes. First, it allows you to dictate how your property, finances and personal belongings will be distributed. Second, if you have minor children, it enables you to name guardians for them; and finally, a will appoints an executor – a person who will be legally responsible for carrying out your final wishes.

What steps are involved in preparing a will?

1, Assess your assets

Start by making a detailed list of your assets, including real estate, bank accounts, investments, personal property and possessions of sentimental value. Understanding your estate will help you make informed decisions about distribution. Remember that if you have assets in multiple countries, you will need to get a will for each country, and as I discovered, estate laws can differ quite a bit.

2, Determine beneficiaries

Decide who will inherit your assets. This can include family members, friends, charities or organisations. To avoid potential confusion, be specific about what each beneficiary will receive. This was a tricky conversation for my husband and me as a couple, especially when we were discussing what would happen if we both died at the same time. In the end we agreed that our assets should be evenly split between our siblings. However, the question has since been raised: is this fair if one spouse has more siblings than the other?

3, Choose an executor

Select a trustworthy individual who will act on your behalf, ensuring that your wishes are honoured. This person should be organised, responsible, and most importantly, someone who is aware of their responsibilities. My husband and I named one another for our individual wills; in the event that this is not possible, a sibling (whom we asked before naming them) will be designated as the executor.

4, Guardianship of minors

If you have minor children, designate a guardian who will be responsible for their care. Discuss this decision with the chosen individual beforehand to ensure that they are willing and able to take on this responsibility. As we don’t have children, for us, guardianship entailed naming the person who will take on the responsibility of our pets should something happen to us both. We have made sure not only to designate a person to care for our pet for the rest of its life, but we have also provided a clause within the will that sets asides a sum of money to that person to ensure there is no financial burden for them. To me, this was the one thing that caused me the most heartache and biggest worry – what would happen to our little woofer should something happen to us both?

5, Draft the document

Although you can choose to write your will yourself and get people to witness it, and so on, we decided it was easier to work with law firms to navigate us through the complex legal requirements, draft the document itself, and most importantly, ensure the wills were valid. Yes, it does cost money, but the way we looked at it was, you work so hard to make money and acquire assets that spending a little money to make sure this is done correctly would only make sense. One thing to note: during my search for a law firm, I discovered that there is no set fee schedule – I was quoted $4,500 by one law firm, yet another quoted me $750 – and both firms are well known on the island.

6, Sign and witness

In most jurisdictions, a will must be signed in the presence of witnesses to be legally binding. The number of witnesses required and whether they need to be disinterested parties can vary based upon the country where the will is drafted. Your lawyer will be able to advise you.

7, Store the will safely

Once drafted, ensure that your will is stored in a safe place, such as a safe-deposit box, as well as with a trusted family member and with your law firm. We have the original copy tucked away in a bottom drawer. We also have it saved in iCloud and sent an electronic version to our siblings, whom we have named as alternate executors.

8, Review and updates

Our lawyer advised us to review our wills from time to time, as life circumstances can change significantly, which may necessitate updates. Major life events, such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the acquisition of new assets, should prompt a review and potential revision of your will.

What was quite interesting about this whole experience of estate planning was learning that even though I thought I knew my husband well after 25 years together, our views were slightly different when it came to planning for our estate. I knew from when we would chat about things over the years that we were not always on the same page, but what I did not expect was how our priorities and values slightly differed.

However, when I chatted with friends about it, they had all experienced the same thing. As one friend put it: “It is the last time you can be an individual and have an opinion.” The reality is, neither my priorities and values nor his were wrong, it just boiled down to individual preferences and how we viewed certain situations.

Overall, even though I loathed having to plan my estate, I am glad it’s done, and it was not as painful as I thought it was going to be. More importantly, I hope it will be a very long time before it is put into action.

• Carla Seely has 24 years of experience in the financial services, wealth management and insurance industries. Over the course of her career, she has obtained several investment licences through the Canadian Securities Institute. She holds ACSI certification through the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments, UK; QAFP through FP Canada; and AINS through the Institutes. She also has a master’s degree in business and management