World Registry of Wills

The recent sudden death of 50-year-old music legend Michael Jackson brought into the forefront the need to have a clearly defined will. Jackson had three young children and no spouse, so it was very important that he named a guardian for them in his will. He ultimately appointed his mother, Katherine Jackson, as their guardian, not the mother of the children. He also entrusted his entire estate to the Michael Jackson Family Trust, which was divided between his children and mother, and cut out his father and siblings.

No one anticipates that they will die suddenly, but if you have children or a significant estate, you should absolutely have a legal will filed so that there is no question about what should happen to everything after you die. In the case of Jackson, there are many, many people who want to have a piece of his estate, but he ensured that only his mother and children will be beneficiaries because he established a legal will. Also, Jackson did not specify where or how he wanted to be buried, but that is also something you can establish in your will. For the sake of your children and loved ones, you should write and file a legal will long before you actually need it.