Prepare-Your-Own Legal Will Packs

Yes – definitely. Your Will is totally legal when prepared by using this Will Pack and it can be used everywhere in Australia. It provides guidance for the preparation of simple Wills. For complex or complicated situations, the advice of a suitably qualified legal person should be sought.

Everybody should have a Will regardless of how little they may own. It is the only legal and commonsense way to ensure that those you care about will benefit from any property or other assets you leave behind.

You should make a valid Will as it is the only method o ensuring that those you choose will get whatever share of your property you want them to have.

If you don’t make a Will, your estate will be disposed of under the rules of intestacy (this means the law applying to people who die without having a Will). These rules often do not produce the result that a person would wish.

Yes – a Will must be in writing to be legal and enforceable. It can be handwritten or typed but must be legible. It does not have to be written out personally by the testator (that is, the person making the Will) but must be properly signed by the testator.

Yes, a Will is revocable - that is, it can be changed at any time. A new Will cancels out any earlier Wills. The last known Will is the only effective one.

There are various circumstances under which you should make a new Will, but the keys ones are:

If you marry, remarry or divorce. Marriage, remarriage or divorce make any previous Wills either totally or partially inoperative – except in very special circumstances.
If you change your mind about who will get what share of your property.
If one (or more) of the beneficiaries named or nominated in your Will dies.
If you believe your existing Will is out of date for any other reason whatsoever.

You do not need the help of a solicitor to use this Will Pack. If you are uncertain about your Will or if you Will requirements are in any way complicated or complex, then the advice of a suitably qualified legal person should be sought.

The main purpose of your Will is to provide instructions for the distribution of your estate after your death.

The choice is yours as to who will receive what share of your property. The only way to ensure that this occurs in accordance with your wishes is to write it down in the form of a legal Will.

If you don’t have a valid Will then your estate will be disposed of under the rules of intestacy. Don’t make the mistake of assuming that this will result in your property being distributed in the way that you would have wished. The rules of intestacy often do not produce that result. Apart from this very important reason for having a Will, think about the following also:

Regardless of the size of your estate, it is the accumulation of your life’s assets and should therefore be treated with the respect it deserves.

You have the opportunity to nominate who will take charge of your affairs after your death by naming the executor(s) in your Will.

Making a Will usually results in quite considerable financial savings in the administration and the distribution of your estate.

Consideration for family and loved ones who are left behind far outweigh any anxiety you have about making sensible arrangements which will apply in the event of your death.

You should be very aware that your Will can become invalid (that is, of no legal effect and you are therefore intestate) due to changes in relationships. The main ones that you should know about are marriage, remarriage and divorce:

When a person marries or remarries, any existing Will is totally revoked (that is – cancelled) and that person is then intestate unless a new Will is made. The only exception to this is where the existing Will “contains an expression of contemplation of marriage”, otherwise a person who marries or remarries must make a new Will.

The effects of divorce on a Will do vary between different states and territories of Australia. In some places, the entire Will of each spouse is automatically revoked (cancelled) by a divorce. Regardless of the state or territory in which a divorce is granted, a totally unsatisfactory situation results unless the parties to a divorce make out new Wills. It is therefore strongly recommended that a divorced person makes a new Will immediately in order to cater to his/her changed financial and personal circumstances.

Whilst it is possible for husband and wife to have what is termed a “joint” Will, this is totally undesirable due to unwanted legal complications which can arise – particularly after the death of one spouse.

It is strongly recommended that husband and wife each have their own separate Will – even though they may be identical in terms of who is to receive their jointly-owned property and assets.

An adopted child becomes the child of the adoptive parents as if he or she had been born to those parents.

Children born outside of marriage now have the same rights, on death of the parent(s), as a child born to married parents.

As your Will must be in writing to be legally enforceable, you must immediately write a new one if your existing Will is destroyed or lost. Failure to do so means you are intestate.

The Prepare-Your-Own Legal Will Pack contains more detailed information than provided above, including step by step instructions on how to prepare your personal details, preparing your Will and actually writing your Will. Click here buy a Prepare-Your-Own Legal Will Pack.