Roughly a year ago, Neil Gaiman posted a Simple Will that artists of all kinds may feel free to use in order to protect their intellectual estates. As I strive to become more professional, or just paid, for my artistic endeavours, I begin to wonder what to do with my non-shared scribblings. Do i leave them for my Mom or Dad? Do I pass them on to friends? Do I release them into the internets to be thankfully ignored by the netizen masses?
Since I am not published(yet). Is anything I make creatively worth the bother to protect legally?
These little thoughts creep into small cracks of my mindspace and take up far too much energies. Gaiman shared and, being and actual, factual professional writer of words, talked in great detail on the ways not protecting your work can cause untold problems for those that survive you.
It’s a PDF file, which you can, and should, if you’re a creative person, download here:
http://www.neilgaiman.com/journal/SIMPLEWILL.pdf
As Les says, your options are:
1) Recopy the document ENTIRELY by hand, date it, and sign it at the end. No witnesses required.
2) Type the document, date it, sign it IN FRONT OF at least two witnesses, who are not family or named in the Will, and have each witness sign IN FRONT OF YOU and the other witnesses. Better yet, go to a lawyer with this form and discuss your choices!
Giving Neil Gaiman’s full blog post a read would not be out of the question. In fact, I recommend it.
I’m fairly certain I don’t have any property that’s worth all the worrying I give it. I am sure that if you want specific effects to go to even more specific people, having a will of any kind will make sure your wishes are carried out to the fullest of your intentions.
I’ve learned this time and time again: it never hurts to have a backup plan.
