地道美语：立遗嘱

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 leftin limbo.
上周，我接到一个叫醒电话，我高中的一个老同学再一次突然的事故中丧生了，没有留下遗嘱。也没有留下财产规划，他的资产会进行遗嘱认证，他的家属陷入痛苦边缘。
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.
我的朋友很年轻，跟我同岁。在我们这个年纪，谁会想到规划财产呢？呃，他应该考虑来着，现在我考虑安排好我的事务。
I’ve already decided 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 mybequests are carried out and my assets are properly disposed of, so this person has to be trustworthy.
我已经决定谁当我的受益人以及家庭每个成员能得到多少遗产。我正在想一个大问题，就是谁来做我遗嘱的执行人。我希望能够确保我遗产能够执行，我的资产能够妥善处置，因此，这个人需要值得信赖。
After I make those decisions, I’ll write a holographic will. It’s the simplest way of drawing up a will and adding codicils 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.
在做了这些决定后，我还会亲笔写一份遗嘱。这是草拟遗嘱最简单的方式，不用代理律师增加一些遗嘱附录。因为我神志还清醒，应该没什么问题。我会请邻居作为见证人。
Before I start drawing up my will, though, I still have one other important decision to make. Who should get custody of my eight cats?
在起草遗嘱之前，不过我还要做另一个重要的决定：谁应该监护照顾我的八只猫？