If I die - how will will work?

Hi

Now that I have made some money and have some IPs, "will" is my next concern. I woke up last week when I heard about a classmate of mine who got killed in a car accident.

I have been thinking about will for the last five years and did some research. I find that the cheapest form of will is a form I bought in a news agency. Just fill in, and get two witnesses to sing .. thats all. When I went to my friend to obtain his signature as witness he said I must go to Public Trust for will.

This public trust which does not charge anything to make a will but charges a lot when I die. Their form is rather exhaustive asking too many questions which made me lazy. I have recently migrated to Australia and still have some interest overseas thus it will require some exhaustive work to list every asset I own.

Then I came here on forum to look for some help and find that there are specialist lawyers for will! Dont know how to find a good one, how much will one charge and how to make sure that the will gets executed as per my wish.

Looks like even dying is not going to be easy.

Any help?

Rgds

Hahahaha, that made me laugh. As with anything to do with nvesting, it's best to start with the end in mind. What do you want to happen to your assets when you die? Do you:

- Want everything sold and the capital given to beneficiaries?
- Held in trust for beneficiaries to draw an income from?
- Sold and the money put in a huge pile and set on fire?

Ultimately what you want is going to determine how to set yourself up. That is something you will need to speak to a solicitor about. There are lots of issues that you need to think about in order to ensure your will is drawn up such that your assets are treated in the way you want them to be. I strongly suggest you speak to a solicitor about getting a will set up - one that specialises in estate planning.

DO NOT skimp on this bit (unless your view on it is 'Ah, I don't care, I'll be dead'). Make sure you go to someone good who you are confident will help you set something up that will ensure that your wishes are adhered to as closely as possible. Wills get attacked all the time and a poorly prepared will can be the cause of a lot of heartache. I'm sure NigelW will be able to shed more light on this one.

I'm getting a testamentary trust and enduring power of attorney set up at the moment and it's costing me a pretty penny, let me tell you! But I'm confident that it's all going to be as air tight as possible and that what I want done will be what gets done. It's all worth it mate, especially as your estate grows over time. A few grand (if that's how much it ends up costing) can potentially save your beneficiaries many times that after you cark it.

Mark

Cost me just over $2500 to get wills, power of attorney, testamentary trusts and the like set up last year. Unfortunately it is not tax deductible

Your mileage when it comes to costs may vary depending on your circumstances - being young and single makes it a lot cheaper usually - just make sure you get it updated as soon as your circumstances change, otherwise it will make things very difficult for those you leave behind.

As usual nothing is free and you get what you pay for (if you are not cheated.)

OK, how to find a good solicitor one Perth for drafting a will?

Rgds

Punter

Another thing that's worth doing is pre-planning your funeral, including such things as going in and choosing a coffin (if that's how you want to be dealt with), and so on. Very morbid and not much fun for you, but it might save your loved ones a ton of trouble.

Many years ago my wife's grandfather died, and she was the only one living close to him and in a position to make arrangements. So with his body still warm and her still grieving she had to go and pick out coffins, handles, all that kind of stuff. Not the sort of thing you want to be concerned with in the days after a family member has died.

Hi Punter,
you should find interesting reading on LawCentral Online Australian Legal Document Shop – Trusts, Wills, Corporate Documents, SMSFs.
I haven't used their documents, but there is plenty of info.