A will is a legal document that lays out, among other things, what you’d like to happen to your assets upon your death. Because it requires facing your own mortality, thinking about your estate plan and creating a will can be uncomfortable. But because death is inevitable, and can happen at any time, it’s more important than ever to make sure that your affairs are in order. Here are our top 10 reasons why you should have a will.

1. Deciding who will oversee your estate.

   A will allows you to name an executor. The executor of your will attends to all your affairs after your death, including things like paying off bills and debts, notifying banks and other institutions of your death, canceling credit cards, distributing assets, etc. Since your executor is so important, a will allows you to choose someone who’s trustworthy and organized, and it doesn’t have to be a family member. You can be secure in your knowledge that your affairs will be taken care of when you’re no longer alive to attend to them yourself.

2. Speeding up probate.

   Assuming that no other effort has been made to avoid probate (for example, through a living trust), all estates of a certain value will have to go through probate. If a will exists, the probate process is a much easier, simpler, and ultimately faster process than if there isn’t a will, because the court has written instructions from you!

3. Deciding who will take care of your minor children.

   If you are a parent or have legal guardianship of a minor, having a will is incredibly important, since it declares who will acquire guardianship of those children if die or become incapacitated. Without a will, a court will often award custody of children to the state.

4. Disinheriting people who would otherwise stand to inherit.

   A will allows you to state plainly that certain people should receive nothing from your estate upon your death. Without a will, your estate could end up in the hands of someone who might have a claim on it, like estranged children, absent parents, or even your ex-spouse!

5. Taking special circumstances into account.

   If you don’t have a will when you die, courts usually try to distribute your assets to immediate family members equally. This isn’t always what you want, even if you’re in good standing with everyone. For example, you might want more of your estate to be given to a disabled child than to other more able-bodied children. A court won’t account for those wishes without a will.

6. Declaring what you want to happen to your body.

   Do you want your body to be cremated, buried, donated to science, or sent off into the ocean on a burning Viking longship? You might have wishes for what will happen to your body after your death, but without a will it might be very difficult for those who survive you to know your wishes. A will allows you to state plainly where you’d like your final resting place to be. In many states, you must designate who will be in charge of the disposition of your remains. It is often not enough to state you want buried or cremated. You must designate who will carry out those wishes.

7. Donating to charities and other institutions.

   A will allows you to designate portions of your estate (or even all of it) to be donated to charities, non-profits, churches, and other organizations that you feel are important or promote worthy causes. Gifts up to a certain amount are generally excluded from estate taxes, so including gifts and donations in your will can decrease the tax burden on your estate.

8. Minimizing estate taxes.

   Giving away money to charities and heirs can minimize the value of an estate when taxes are due upon that estate.

9. Making sure pets have a safe home.

   Though often overlooked in discussions about estate planning, animals are considered property just as much as a house or bank account. Creating a will allows you to declare your wishes for your pets, ensuring that they’re given to friends, family, or shelters instead of a state pound.

10. Preparing for the inevitable.

    All of us will die; the only question is when. While we’d all like long and healthy lives, it’s certainly no guarantee. That’s why it’s so important to not procrastinate drafting a will and creating an estate plan - because not even tomorrow is guaranteed.