The answer is yes! By creating your will you exercise your personal discretion over the division of your assets. You decide where your belongings, such as cars or jewellery should be distributed. If you have minor children the will lets you provide for their care and you can specifically direct and dictate what assets people receive.
Without a will, a person dies intestate and the state takes control over the distribution of your assets according to a pre-set formula. If you are married or defacto, this could result in half of your estate going to your spouse the other half going to the children. These scenarios can result in the sale of the family home or other assets which might negatively affect a surviving spouse. The bottom line is without a valid will your hard earned assets will be distributed in a way not of your choosing.
SIMPLE WILL SPECIAL
SIMPLE WILLS
A simple will is a document that makes gifts of your estate in a very straightforward manner and generally provides that the whole of the estate is given to a spouse, if the spouse has not survived you then the estate goes to any children who have survived you and attain an age of 18 or above.
If there are no children or spouse then the estate goes to your chosen named beneficiaries in the shares you chose. Your nominated beneficiaries should be natural persons not charities or organisations (special instructions are required where gifts are left to charity which mean it would not be a simple will).
In a simple will if your nominated beneficiary does not survive you then his or her share will be distributed between the other beneficiaries equally however, if any beneficiary dies before you, leaving children then the deceased’s beneficiary’s share passes to his or her children.
A simple will is not suitable for all people or all circumstances. If you:
- have a blended family
- own your own business or have complex financial arrangements
- have substantial assets
- expect to marry or enter a de facto relationship in the near future
- expect to divorce or separate in the near future
- have an expectation that one of your beneficiaries will lose their part of the estate to creditors or in a divorce settlement
- have a child or another beneficiary with special needs
You will need to seek specialist advice on estate planning and taxation in respect of matters that need to be covered in your will.
Get in touch now and ask about our simple wills by emailing Nicole on hello@eConveyancingNSW.com.au and put WILLS QUERY in the subject line so we can answers you quickly.