Wealth
Do I need a will?
Every day, people make excuses for why they don’t need a will to ensure their valuable assets pass to their family.
Classic excuses include:
- I don’t need a will because my wife/kids are going to inherit everything anyway. She/they’ll take care of it.
- Isn’t that for rich, old people?
- I only have a house – not much to worry about, really.
- Getting a will is too expensive and time consuming.
- I’ll be dead anyway, so it’s not my problem.
- If I talk about it too much, I’ll probably jinx myself.
The response to all of these furphies is a resounding “wrong!”.
The absence of a will is a great way to waste money and ensure that your beneficiaries lose out.
While not having a will may mean that ultimately assets eventually find their way to next of kin, the pathway is longer, more expensive and requires court involvement – overall, a much slower and more expensive way to achieve the outcome that a straightforward will could ensure.
Of course, not having a will means that your intentions are irrelevant, and what you wanted to happen may not occur.
When people die without a will (called an intestacy), the law sets out a formula that applies to distribute assets in different proportions between next of kin in a specified sequence.
That may, for example, mean a house has to be sold, even if the wife is living there, to satisfy the intestacy formula.
The absence of a will may open the door to a contested estate.
A simple will would prevent unintended consequences occurring.
A simple will is not expensive (usually under $750).
Unless the estate is complex, there is no need for a testamentary trust or other complications to blow out the costs of a will.
In fact, lawyers make much more money when people don’t have a will, as the sorting out of people’s estates without a will significantly increases the time and expense involved.
Brisbane & Sunshine Coast Elder Law are experts in wills, estate disputes, estate management and retirement village contracts. Contact them on 1800 961 622 or visit sunshinecoastelderlaw.com.au or brisbaneelderlaw.com.au
