Why everyone should have a will.
Making a will in western Australia is easy. First things first, you need an executor of a will. If you prepare a will, then you can nominate someone you trust to be your executor. The executor has an important role as the person authorised to contact institutions and make decisions relating to your estate, so choose carefully.
If you don’t have an appointed executor, then your closest family members will have to decide who should manage your estate. On more than one occasion, we have seen this lead to conflict between family members. For example, siblings disagree about who should be appointed, which can cause delays in administering the estate. Often a spouse and children from a previous marriage end up in lengthy conflict during a time when they should be allowed to grieve.
The longer it takes to administer the estate, the more difficult it is for your loved ones. A spouse may not be able to pay off the mortgage on the family home or may be subject to calls from debt collectors due to unpaid bills because the bank does not know who is authorised to collect the money. Often relatives say: “I have not had time to grieve because there has been so much to do. I just want this to be over so I can take time to grieve my loss.”
If you have children under 18, dealing with an estate without a will can be even more challenging. Your spouse may have to set up trusts for the children or obtain a guarantee before they are approved by the court to administer your estate. You may also wish to consider including a clause in your will to say who should look after your young children in the event both of their parents pass away.
If you do not have immediate family, such as a partner or children, it’s even more important to consider who you would like to benefit from your estate. If you do not make a will, then in some cases, distant or estranged relatives may be entitled to receive something from your estate. In extreme cases, it may be difficult for those relatives to be located because they live overseas or have been estranged from you, and none of your close friends knows their contact details. This could mean your hard-earned money remains unclaimed for years.
What if you prepare your own will? Do you think this will be sufficient? The Supreme Court has called homemade wills a “curse” in many cases over the years because of the difficulties in interpreting handwritten documents that are often incomplete or signed incorrectly. In some circumstances, a beneficiary has not received a gift because it has not been described correctly. In others, some or all of the estate may be subject to the laws of intestacy because the will or parts of it can’t be determined to be valid. If your estate is subject to the laws of intestacy, then the persons you wish to benefit may not be included or may not receive the amount you intended.
A wills and estates law firm can help make all of this less complicated.