Denise Reid, Gleaner Writer

Don't be caught dead without one! Make a will! That, essentially, was the message from estate-planning attorney Denise James to people who want to ensure fewer complications in dealing with estates when they die.

"(With a will) an estate can be administered in the shortest possible time, ensuring that the assets go to loved ones as set out in the will," James told a community meeting at the Half Moon Hotel in Montego Bay last week.

And leaving a will "minimises the taxes" on the assets the deceased leaves behind, James explained at the seminar hosted by Guardian Insurance Company.

At the same function, Guardian launched a new insurance policy called the Guardian Care Plus Critical Illness Plan, which will pay a lump sum of $1.5 million on first diagnosis of any of 10 illnesses covered by the policy, including cancer.

"We have developed this product to spread a wider net of coverage for Jamaicans who have found existing policies on the market to be too restrictive," said Eric Hosin, senior vice-president of individual life at Guardian.

first preference

In the event of death, though, things can get messy if there is no will to guide an executor, and sometimes, matters have to be unravelled by the courts.

Indeed, James noted that in the case of death without a will, a spouse, in the normal course of things, is given first preference, followed by children.

The spouse receives two-thirds of the residue (what is left of the estate) and the child receives one-third, after taxes are deducted.

If the deceased has more than one child, the spouse receives 50 per cent and all the children share the other 50 per cent.

But even in circumstances where a person might have done the right things to prepare for death, there are, at times, the unexpected, against which people can take insurance - literally.

For example, James noted, under the inheritance provisions of the Family and Dependants Act, spouses, children and parents can make claims on the estate for financial provision after the person has died, and has been assumed as such by the courts.

"Thus, it is advised that life insurance be taken out for any dependants that an individual might have," said James.

denise.reid@gleanerjm.com