GRIFFITH’S Wendy Sweeney has shared her story about losing her son Mitchell in a bid to encourage young people to make a will.
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Her story has been shared on the Will It Your Way Facebook page.
My name is Wendy Sweeney and on 4th February 2010 my husband and I received the worst news any parent could ever receive.
One phone call changed our lives forever when we were informed that our youngest son had been killed in a workplace accident in Queensland.
Mitchell was 22 and was making his way in the world. He had moved to Queensland and had several jobs before he began working for a company that was installing insulation as part of the "pink batts scheme".
Mitchell left school at 18 and after working and saving for 18 months he and his mate decided to do some travelling overseas.
Before any travel arrangements were made, my husband organised for Mitchell to make a will.
As a young man who hadn't been working all that long and didn't have a lot of money or possessions we felt it was important he had a will before he travelled overseas as it would make the legal side of things easier to deal with in case of an accident. Little did we know this would happen a lot sooner than expected.
As terrible as the circumstances were, there were no problems dealing with his outstanding bills, bank accounts and superannuation funds to be closed.
This just goes to show that it is very important to have a will made even at the young age of 18 as it eases the burden on a family at a very difficult time.
Kay Catanzariti has encouraged families to discuss wills with their children. Visit www.willityourway.com