Wills in business in coronavirus period? Making decisions based on emotion. Buying a house is a major life milestone. It’s a place where you’ll make memories, create a space that’s truly yours, and put down roots. It’s easy to get too attached and make emotional decisions, so remember that you’re also making one of the largest investments of your life, says Ralph DiBugnara, president of Home Qualified in New York City. “With this being a strong seller’s market, a lot of first-time buyers are bidding over what they are comfortable with because it is taking them longer than usual to find homes,” DiBugnara says. How this affects you: Emotional decisions could lead to overpaying for a home and stretching your budget beyond your means. What to do instead: “Have a budget and stick to it,” DiBugnara says. “Don’t become emotionally attached to a home that is not yours.”
You want to be able to distinguish your house from other homes for sale on the market and one way to do so is to throw in a few freebies. This can be done by leaving behind some of your personal property that is valued above and beyond what the average home buyer in your home’s price range would typically not be able to afford. These items can range from a big screen smart TV to high-quality stainless steel kitchen appliances. If you live near a lake or a golf course, you may want to throw in a fishing motorboat or a golf cart.
If on-line sources are to be believed, a variety of electronic “do it yourself cheap” will kits have been picked up widely, with members of the public latching on to claims that they are simple and cheap and don’t take a lot of time to prepare. It can only be a source of wonder as to how many of them are actually being completed and signed anywhere near properly. For estate litigators, this may be the source of work for the future. Read more information at Wills And COVID-19.
Electronic signatures and counterpart documents are not permitted and all sessions should be recorded if possible. A special ‘attestation clause’ explaining that the Will has been witnessed virtually is advised and further guidance is expected to follow from professional bodies. This more convoluted and long-winded process carries more risk of the Will being ineffective, e.g. if the will-maker dies before the process has been fully completed. However a Will is signed, the basic formalities must still be observed, ie the will-maker must understand what they are doing and not be unduly influenced by anyone; witnesses should also have the requisite capacity and must not be beneficiaries or spouses/civil partners of a beneficiary. Professional advice should ideally be sought in all cases.
Have an Emergency Fund: If you lost your job tomorrow would you have enough money to live off while you look for a new one? If not then you’re not alone. This study found that although Americans are doing a better job at saving, around 24 percent of them (57 million people) don’t have an emergency fund. Now I don’t want to be a negative Nancy or a Debbie downer, but emergencies happen all the time. They may not happen to you, but it’s always good to be prepared. You can’t predict an emergency, but you can prepare for one. The best way to do so is to set up an emergency fund of 3-6 months living expenses. That means if you lost your job tomorrow, you’d be able to live off your emergency fund for 3-6 months while you look for a new one. Net worth can seem like a tricky topic, but it’s quite simple. Your net worth is how much money you are worth. If you were to sell everything you own, then pay off everything you owe, how much money would be left?
We have seen lenders ask for, and borrowers agree to, enhanced information covenants, including the delivery of updated compliance certificates following a payment default by a tenant where the borrower is a landlord of a multi-let property. Some lenders are exercising their rights under loan agreements to block distributions to investors, thereby minimizing any leakage from the structure. Others are allowing for the release of funds to investors once the loan has been stabilized following an equity cure. For our Middle Eastern sponsor client base, release of distributions to their investors has been a key factor in re-negotiating the terms of their existing loan agreements. Having said that the practicalities of the current market has meant that in many cases there is very little (if any) cash available for distributions, even in the cases of stablised loans. Read even more details at https://techbullion.com/wills-and-covid-19-safeguarding-your-assets-during-a-global-pandemic/.