Planning for your family’s future after you’re gone is a really important legal task. Take the time now to make an effective legally binding Will is sure to save your family significant stress and money in what will undoubtedly be a difficult time for them.

Why make a will?

If you don’t have a will in place when you pass away, your estate (possessions) will be divided up after consultation with the Law of Intestacy. This can have drastic repercussions in any many of ways. This situation is frightfully common and often results in a strained legal battle that takes its toll on all the parties and fractures families. If you die leaving behind no close relatives your assets and remaining money are deemed property of the Crown, no matter how influential a friend or loved one had been in your life.

Drafting your Will

The most important task of this whole process is the actually writing a Will, and the first thing you must do is to appoint someone to entrust with this responsibility. We cannot stress that self-help guides, online kits and postal Will Kits are not advisable due to the excessive legal elements involved. We have been involved in a significant amount of litigation trying to unravel the mess informal or self-drafted Will kits leave behind. The expense to the estate can be in the tens of thousands. A basic Will is extremely affordable, and if your estate requires a more complex plan, we will generally always draft a basic will first followed by a more complex estate plan.

Our Wills and Estate Planning lawyers can help:

• Take instructions and advise you on the best estate plan;
• Draft basic or complex wills, depending on your individual needs;
• Establish a testamentary trust to protect the interests of family members and maximise your family’s wealth;
• Advise you on nominating executors and guardians and what the practical implications of your nominations are on your death;
• Minimise the chance that your will is contested and subject to litigation;
• Advise on superannuation nominations and life insurance policies;
• Safely store your will and other important legal documents at no cost.

At the same time as considering your Will, depending on your circumstances and age we may recommend that you also put in place plans for any future incapacity through Power of Attorney and Guardianship documents. This will ensure that if you become unable to make decisions about your finances, your medical treatment or living arrangements then the person or persons who you trust to make these decisions can do so unhindered.