Wills
Why make a Will?
If you do not have a Will, you have very little control where your property goes. It may be that the Public Trustee will administer your Estate.
If you do not have a Will then you will not be able to pass on any specific gifts to loved ones, for example, jewellery. Alternatively, you may want to keep a house in the family and if there is no Will it is very unlikely you will be able to do that.
Leaving a Will makes it much easier for your loved ones to manage your affairs after you pass away.
To make sure your loved ones are looked after, and to make sure they are not left with frustrating legal problems at an already difficult time, it is very important to have a carefully considered and professionally drawn will.
What to Consider when Making your Will?
You firstly need to consider who you would like to be the Executor of your Estate. This should preferably be a family member or close friend. You should appoint two Executors to cover the possibility that one of them may be unable to act in this role.
We can help you with the drafting of your Will to plan for this situation.
You will need to carefully consider all of your assets, not just those in your sole name, but also assets that you hold jointly. Or alternatively, that maybe held by a company or trust. You might need to consider any specific gifts you would like to make. You may want to give specific instructions as to your burial or cremation.
Why instruct a professional to prepare your Will?
A “homemade” Will may well suffice and be inexpensive initially but can, if ambiguous or incorrectly prepared, result in legal costs that greatly exceed any initial saving.
Some Trustee companies do not charge you to prepare a Will. However, a pitfall in instructing Trustee companies (Public Trustee) is that the Trustee companies commonly charge you a percentage of your Estate to administer it.
How much does it cost?
Will prices
- Standard Will single $330.00
- Standard Will couple $594.00
Power of Attorney prices
- Power of Attorney single $165.00
- Power of Attorney couple $275.00
10% discount applies to Aged Pensioners
All prices inclusive of GST