A will is a document in which the will-maker (the “testator”) chooses who receives their belongings and assets after they die.
A will can also do other things, such as expressing wishes about cremation or burial, funeral arrangements, appointing guardians for children, and in some cases setting up simple or elaborate trusts. A will can also be used to appoint a guardian to look after children until they can look after themselves.
Sounds fairly straightforward? Here’s a link to A Test of Wills, an article well worth a read that appeared last week in the Sydney Morning Herald. It adequately summarises many issues about what can go wrong and some of the challenges. If a contested matter ends up in a courtroom, I'd suggest that the figures in the article are a little on the conservative side though.
In my many years of practice, I've acted in many deceased estate cases involving home-made wills and wills prepared from a Do-It-Yourself kits. Amongst these, I cannot recall a single instance where there wasn't some issue or problem resulting from the will not being properly prepared. Some were minor, and some were quite serious. In the most serious, the convoluted wording in the home made will, using a will kit, meant that a rural property was to go to a charity, while everything else pointed to a contrary intention.
The starting position for will makers is that a person who isn't suffering from mental incapacity, isn't unduly influenced, under duress or the victim of a fraud, is entitled to leave their estate to whoever they choose.
This position however is modified by family provision laws, where certain classes of people can apply to the court for orders that, despite an otherwise valid will where they "miss out", provision be made to them from the estate's assets. As a will maker, this may not be your desired result.
So, as the article suggests, get good professional advice and use a lawyer to draft your will.
A will can also do other things, such as expressing wishes about cremation or burial, funeral arrangements, appointing guardians for children, and in some cases setting up simple or elaborate trusts. A will can also be used to appoint a guardian to look after children until they can look after themselves.
Sounds fairly straightforward? Here’s a link to A Test of Wills, an article well worth a read that appeared last week in the Sydney Morning Herald. It adequately summarises many issues about what can go wrong and some of the challenges. If a contested matter ends up in a courtroom, I'd suggest that the figures in the article are a little on the conservative side though.
In my many years of practice, I've acted in many deceased estate cases involving home-made wills and wills prepared from a Do-It-Yourself kits. Amongst these, I cannot recall a single instance where there wasn't some issue or problem resulting from the will not being properly prepared. Some were minor, and some were quite serious. In the most serious, the convoluted wording in the home made will, using a will kit, meant that a rural property was to go to a charity, while everything else pointed to a contrary intention.
The starting position for will makers is that a person who isn't suffering from mental incapacity, isn't unduly influenced, under duress or the victim of a fraud, is entitled to leave their estate to whoever they choose.
This position however is modified by family provision laws, where certain classes of people can apply to the court for orders that, despite an otherwise valid will where they "miss out", provision be made to them from the estate's assets. As a will maker, this may not be your desired result.
So, as the article suggests, get good professional advice and use a lawyer to draft your will.
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