There was a lot of talk when Heath Ledger’s last will and testament came out. Apparently, he wrote it in 2003, before his relationship with Michelle Williams. In it he left all his assets to his parents and sister. Even after the birth of their daughter Matilda Rose in 2005, he never got around to making an update. One can imagine that puts Michelle and the baby in a precarious situation. Although the Ledger family has offered to help in raising the child, now Heath will never have a say on how much of his estimated $20 million will be for baby Matilda, and for Michelle. That’s something I wouldn’t want to happen to me.

You’re lucky that you’re reading this. It means (1) you’re still breathing, and (2) you have plenty of time to prepare. Try not to procrastinate. Queer Cents lists a few suggestions as to how you should proceed in writing your will, especially for us of the not-so-straight variety. Of course, the legal status of our partnerships (unless you live in Canada or any other gay paradise) means we need to prepare more documents, to cover for things that married people take for granted.

They also have an article on how to go about investing. Here’s a few of their ideas:

Domestic Partnership Checklist

Create a Financial Plan—Together
The best overall strategy is to create a financial plan, addressing your long-term goals and asking the difficult “what if” questions. Then, speak with your legal and tax advisors about preparing these important documents:

Make a will
If you own your house jointly, don’t assume that your partner will automatically receive it if you die. A will and/or a trust confirming your intentions can help ensure that your assets pass as you desire. If you die without a will, intestacy laws will not leave your assets to an unrelated partner.

List beneficiaries
Many assets, such as life insurance, 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts, are transferred outside the will and are not subject to probate. Thus, same-sex couples may wish to list each other as beneficiaries on individual accounts and policies. On non-retirement accounts, consider establishing Transfer On Death (TOD) provisions where permissible under applicable state law.

Read the rest of the checklist here.