Hi Guys,
just out of interest, has everyone on here prepared their Wills, in the case of when they die, that their assets or ownings will go to someone who they wish to benefit, or is this something that is overlooked?
… anything important that one should know in preparing a Will?
and just one other small question, do many couples these days prepare pre-nups in the case that they may split and want to get back what is correctly theirs?
Cheers,
sisHi SIS,
We have our wills organised and get them updated every 5 years.
Our most recent will and enduring power of attorney were composed with the assistance of a solicitor at around $600.
Our previous will was free and was written up by the state trustees. While it was free they did want to take a hefty percentage out of the estate as administrator.
Certainly compiling and mainitaining a will should be an essential event and makes a solicitor an integral part of your team.
Derek
sis- your solicitor should provide you with a feee will-writing service when you buy or sell a house- mine always do although I never take them up on it- I’m slack, and death isn’t fun to think about. Basically, if you don’t write a will, your stuff will just go to next of kin.
Writing pre-nups won’t override current civil law. You could say you don’t want some relative or a partner to get stuff, but if you see some of those ads in the paper: “missed out on inheriting in a will? Do you think you have an entitlement…?” you’d see that people still maintain a legal right to inherit.
kay henry
Kay Henry – is that correct? I thought if there wasn’t a Will, the government stepped in to take over the assets.
Do I hear wedding bells, sis?[heart] [party]
Yes we got a free will like Kay said, from our solicitor when we bought the house, but guess what we prepared it but still is waiting at her office to be signed- haven’t gotten around to do this yet (keep forgetting).
We didn’t get a pre-nup when we got married, we both had nothing to loose then anyway.
PS and[offtopic]
Did you see the movie: Intolerable Cruelty? Funny about tricking each other with the pre-nups hehehe.How about the will kits that you can buy from newsagencies…Wouldn’t they suffice?
James
shirley,
Sure, that’s correct. goes to next of kin. Now, in homosexual relationships, partners don’t automatically inherit, as they do in het relationships. My assets wopuld go straight to my mum, basically. She’d allocate.
Really, a will is only required if you have some special requirments- but apart from that, the government ain’t gonna come in if you die unless you have no next of kin.
kay henry
Hi all,
Making a will is not simple thing. In some situations a free/cheap will kit (or similar) will do the job – Eg husband and wife and no kids and no previous long term relationships.
However the minute you have a previous long term relationship/marriage and/or children then you move into a potentially loaded minefield.
If you want to ‘favour’ one party over another then you will need to explicitly show good cause why party A got more than party B and so on.
Then the previous wife/husband may also make a claim even though they may have been the recipient of a previous settlement.
The possible pitfalls can be enormous.
For us (and our family life is fairly straightforward too) – it is seen as a necessary evil but I know that my assets will go where they were intended. That gives me great sleep at night factor.
Derek
Sorry for any overlaps!
Can anyone help?
Can simple will kits cope with IPs that need managing and children who aren’t old enough to manage them?
DO you need to set up a trust? How do they work?[/font=Courier New]
Simple will kits are for simple lives.
It didn’t work for mine and the choices they give are not in depth enough.
Byronent
Adelaide SAgood post few reply and came back after long time probably cuz of tsunami. I don’t have any will but may be i don’t need as assets will go to my next kin.
what’s the percenage of people got will?
Cheers
PropertyGuRu [sultan]
Mortgage Consultant
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MSN ID: amitash, Yahoo Id: bornguruNZ loan pre approval from OZ in 48 hours,Low Doc from 6.85%,Investment loan 95%+
Originally posted by Still in School:and just one other small question, do many couples these days prepare pre-nups in the case that they may split and want to get back what is correctly theirs
Hey SIS,
So whos the lucky girl hey? You been holding out on us eh? [arrowhead]
Who took my MONEY[?]
Beware if you don’t have a will and just assume that your estate will go to the next of kin. The person or persons who you define as next of kin may not be who the legal system names as next of kin. I am personally involved in a case where the status of “next of kin” is being contested via legal proceedings. Whoever wins the title of “next of kin” will then be the 100% benificiary of the estate as there was no will.
Having known the deceased for about 10 years I can pretty safely say that neither of the two people contesting for next of kin status are the people he would have chosen to inherit his estate. I believe he would have chosen to put the money into a trust for his two boys (aged 5 and 2). Too bad that his parents and ex-defacto (neither of whom have responsibility for the children) both think they are entitled to it…
The outcome is yet to be decided and may take up to a year.
Don’t think it can’t happen to you. If you care who benifits from your wealth then have a legal will. At least then you have a fighting chance that your estate will be distributed according to your wishes.
Regards,
SonjaFrom memory, the order usually goes spouse first, children second, parents third. An ex. should not win the case as you described. The children will be the next of kin in my opinion. I think it is the trustee which is the big issue as the kids are so young.
Robert Bou-Hamdan
Mortgage Adviser
http://www.mortgagepackaging.com.auFREE Finance-Related Newsletter – Click Here
Comments made are of a general nature and should not be construed as individual advice.
© 2004 Mortgage Packaging Pty LtdI’m hoping and praying it goes that way Robert. The whole situation is nothing short of tragic but I believe that a will would have been a good thing. I’m sure that a trustee could have been nominated in the will as well.
Cheers,
SonjaBTW she was only ex by about 10 days when he died.
Pre-Nups don’t really work.
First of they only last for a maximum of 10yrs.
Secondly (and the real problem with them) is that they don’t have any flaxibility for change of cirumstances, so if you buy a whole heap of houses then it is basically outdated.
Lastly the family court can completely ignore what is written in a prenup (though they usually don’t, they look at it as a kind of base).Also if you have children or your spouse disposes of any assets during said period then a prenup is basically torn up.
Of course the short the term of the marriage the higher chance that the pre-nup will stand in court (I guess that explains why celebs get married and divorced in less than a yr!)
Rgds.
Lucifer_auOriginally posted by Sonja:BTW she was only ex by about 10 days when he died.
In this case, I would guess that she will be the sole benficiary if she is the mother of the children. 10 days is a separation, not an ex.
Robert Bou-Hamdan
Mortgage Adviser
http://www.mortgagepackaging.com.auFREE Finance-Related Newsletter – Click Here
Comments made are of a general nature and should not be construed as individual advice.
© 2004 Mortgage Packaging Pty LtdIf your situation has any comlications eg family trust, get professional advice. I read recently if you have infant beneficiaries structuring super payments to them as pensions may save tax.
if you have an estate that maybe contested, or if it is a reasonable size and you are over 65, other than using a the solicitor, consider asking them whether you should get an appraisal of your mental capacity.
If there is any chance of you or your loved one having dementia or the will being contested, then this is essential and must be done as close to the time your will is signed as possible. There have been particularly messy cases of people making a will, getting alzheimers, changing the will a couple of times, and there being no clear indication of when they lost capacity. Even if you you dot all your i’s the will can always be contested anyway, but at least it is less messy.
so has anyone actually made a will with some kind of trust set up for their children who are not yet old enough to deal with the IPs?
How does a trust like this work ?
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