These Questions and Answers reveal 10 Very Good Reasons you should have a Will. 1. Who decides what happens to your assets?
If you die without a valid Will, your estate is divided up according to the law and you will have no say in how it is distributed. A Will is a legally binding document, especially if it is written correctly, and it lets you say how you want your estate to be dealt with upon your death. Having a valid Will helps to minimize family fights about your estate, because it clearly spells out “Who What and When” for your Estate. 2. Who will raise your children? By making a Will you have a say in who will take care of your children. Without a Will, the Court may take it upon itself to choose among family members or a government appointed guardian and there may be no regard to your views about those family members. 3. Who will control your Estate? With a Will, you get to decide who will control (administer) your Estate. You can choose the person or institution you think will be most likely to responsibly follow your instructions without applying their own preferences. Because Executors play the biggest role in the administration of your Estate, you’ll want to be sure to appoint someone who is honest, trustworthy, and organized. This may not always be a family member!) 4. How long will it take to administer your Estate? A professionally prepared and valid Will greatly assists the cost-efficient administration of your Estate and the early distribution of your assets to the beneficiaries named in your Will. Most estates will need to go through a process of being proven by the Court (Probate). Having a Will speeds up this process. When you die without a valid Will, the Court makes the decision who will administer your Estate and how to divide your Estate without any input from you. This can cause expensive delays. 5. What if you want to exclude someone from receiving a benefit from your Estate? Most people don’t realise that they can exclude beneficiaries or give unequal amounts to beneficiaries. It might be as simple as a loan or gift being taken into account. It’s really important to have a professionally prepared Will if that is your intention. Also, if you want to protect what you give a beneficiary, that provision needs to be in a Will, or in alternative documents you can prepare when you are doing your Will. It’s a complicated area and it certainly pays to get this right. 6. What if you want to make donations to charities? There is only one binding way to make a bequest to a charity upon your death and that is by having that bequest written into a Will. Again, gifting to charities in your Will can be complicated and you should talk this through with a professional. 7. How can you avoid legal challenges to your Will? For a start, if you don’t have a Will you have no protection against challenges against your Estate. Preparing a valid Will with professional advice increases the protection your beneficiaries have. Wills can be challenged but most valid well written Wills are not – it’s as simple as that. 8. What do you do if your circumstances change? Well, circumstances do change. Life changes such as births deaths, marriage, and divorce all create situations where having a Will and changing that Will are essential. Wills should be reviewed regularly – depending on what is happening in your life – as regularly as every year to every three years. Don’t invest in preparing a Will and then leave it in the back of a cupboard. 9. What will your defacto partner be entitled if you die? If you die without a Will your defacto partner may not be automatically entitled to any of your Estate. He or she may stand to lose all of the assets and treasured mementos you want them to have. 10. Does having a Will mean your intended beneficiaries are provided for? Not necessarily. It depends very much on how your assets are structured and owned. If you prepare your Will with the advice of a solicitor you will be able to review all of your estate planning needs including appropriate arrangements for your incapacity, and a review of your business succession, as well as any trusts. life insurance and superannuation.
2 Comments
Robert Northcoat
8/1/2019 11:58:43 pm
Great article
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Trish
9/1/2019 09:53:32 am
Thanks for your comment, Robert. I agree, it really is important that people obtain advice from someone experienced in their domicile - and these days asset ownership is often multi-jurisdictional so more than one Will may be required. Even an International Will might be appropriate if property is owned in participating countries. On my advice, a client of mine recently arranged to execute two Wills - one in Australia and one in Thailand (with appropriate exclusions to jurisdiction) to meet his estate planning needs. The Thai document was produced and advised on by a Thai lawyer. A competent Estate Planning lawyer can recommend the best strategy.
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