ESL Podcast 943 – Making a Will

 　　Last week, I got a wake-up call. One of my oldest friends from high school died suddenly in an accident, leaving no will. With no estate planning at all, his assets went into probate and his dependents were left in limbo¹.

　　My friend was a young man, the same age as me. At our age, who thinks about estate planning? Well, he should have and I’m starting right now to put my affairs in order.

　　I’ve already decided² who will be my beneficiaries and how much of an inheritance each family member will get. One big decision I’m still thinking about is who should be my executor. I want to make sure my bequests³ are carried out and my assets are properly disposed of, so this person has to be trustworthy.

　　After I make those decisions, I’ll write a holographic will. It’s the simplest way of drawing up a will and adding codicils⁴ without an attorney, and since I’m still of sound mind, there shouldn’t be any problems. I’ll ask my neighbors to be witnesses.

　　Before I start drawing up my will, though, I still have one other important decision to make. Who should get custody⁵ of my eight cats?

　　Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 bequests   

n.遗赠( bequest的名词复数 )；遗产，遗赠物

参考例句：

• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He left bequests of money to all his friends. 他留下一些钱遗赠给他所有的朋友。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 codicils   

n.遗嘱的附件( codicil的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The content of a book or document exclusive of prefatory matter, codicils, indexes, or appendices. 正文除去序言、补遗、索引和附录的书或文献的主要部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。