02/05/2011

Leslie rang us to say she wanted a 'simple Will'. A well-organised young woman, Leslie confirmed that she and her husband had few assets and no children as yet, but wanted Wills just to be on the safe side.

'We want everything to go to one another and that's about it – a one-pager should be fine' she said.  After a lengthy letter of advice from us Leslie started to realise that simple Wills are not as simple as they sound.

Here are some of the issues we raised with Leslie and her ‘simple Will’.

1.    She appointed her husband as her executor but made no allowance for an alternate executor.  If she and her husband were involved in, say, a car accident then her husband may not be around to be her executor and a back-up executor needed to be included.

2.    Similarly she made her husband the sole beneficiary but made no allowance for an alternate beneficiary in the awful but nonetheless possible situation of both her and her husband passing at the same time. A back-up beneficiary needed to be included.

3.    She had not told us what was to happen with her superannuation benefits.  She’s been working for over 10 years and has amassed a material amount of super.  Her Will cannot deal with that super initially so she had to consider a death benefit nomination. Decisions had to be then made about whether the nomination should be binding or non-binding and precisely how to deal with that super.

4.    She had a small life insurance policy and we had to investigate precisely who was entitled to the policy proceeds on her death: her estate, her husband or someone else.  The policy was 5 years old and she couldn’t remember.

5.    She had few debts but also few assets so it was important for her to consider precisely which of her assets should be used to pay those debts, particularly as some assets may be at least partially quarantined from such debt payments.

6.    She wanted the Will to say that she did not want to be kept alive artificially.  We had to point out that the Will only becomes relevant after death and nothing in the Will can deal with her situation before she actually dies.  A separate document is needed to make known her wishes in that regard.

7.    We advised her that many Wills these days provide the testator’s directions on whether their remains are available for organ transplantation or medical research.

8.    We advised her that many Wills these days provide the testator’s directions on how their remains are to be dealt with (ie cremated , buried etc) and what sort of funeral service they would prefer.

9.    We advised her of the need for an enduring Power of Attorney to enable her husband to deal with her assets if she became mentally unable to do so (for example if she were in a coma).

For Leslie with few assets and no children there were still a lot of things to think about when preparing a Will.  Imagine how quickly things become more complicated when assets grow and kids come into the picture.  Never prepare your own Will – see an expert.

For help with your estate planning and a copy or our Wills order form please contact us on (02) 8296 6222.