The Importance Of Creating A Will
Written by: Karlene Wightman l Legal Team
Have you ever been in a situation when you suddenly remember that you need to book a doctor’s appointment for your child? You stop everything you’re doing to find a piece of paper and a pen to write yourself a note because it will just as easily slip your mind if you don’t stop right at that second and write yourself a reminder. What about booking your car in for a service because it’s getting a little too overdue and you’ve noticed that your tyres are starting to wear thin? You stop and write yourself a note to call your mechanic to book your car for a service. Right?
These thoughts and reminders that you write yourself are all important – they are important because they include the safety of yourself, your family and your loved ones and their wellbeing. But there is one more note that you need to write down, and as you’re reading this – get your piece of paper and your pen ready because this is a note that you don’t have the luxury of forgetting and organising when it’s too late – you need to get your Will done!
If you already have done your Will, congratulations because you’re not making up part of the extremely alarming statistic of being one of the 52% of Australians (approximately 9.9 million adult Australians) that do not have a Will.
Canny Group has made it easier than ever for you to do your Will, we have created an Online Will for you to be able to do the hard work from anywhere that you are. So if you’ve just written yourself a note that you need to do your Will, or update your Will we’re going to show you and explain how we can help you to make a start – right now!
Legal Questions: What Is A Will?
So, let’s start from the start! A Will is a legally binding document that sets out who will receive your assets such as your children (if they are minors), your property and the possessions that you leave behind once you pass away.
Your Will names important people who will be part of the process to help finalise your Estate once you have passed away. People such as who you have chosen to be your Executor, who is the person appointed or people appointed (if you choose to have more than one executor) that you want to be responsible for looking after your affairs. As well as those that you have named to be your beneficiaries, who are the people you have chosen to share in the assets of your estate upon your death.
When you have a valid Will, you are giving yourself and your family the best chance of making sure that your assets go where you want them to and also to whom you want them to go to. We can’t stress the importance of ensuring you have a Will if you have a family or if you have other people that are financially dependent on you.
Legal Issues: Why Do I Need A Will?
If you pass away without a Will, you are said to have died “intestate”. If you die intestate the law determines how your assets will be distributed and if you are thinking to yourself as you’re reading this “it’s not going to matter because I don’t have anything to leave to anyone” ask yourself this very basic and easy question;
Have I ever worked in my life that has enabled me to contribute to my superannuation?
If the answer is yes – then you do have something to leave to someone and that can be just the tip of the iceberg. It’s all well and good to have made your wishes known to those closest to you in a conversation around the dinner table but in reality, if those wishes aren’t documented in the correct legal way in the form of a Will the result can very much reflect those wishes that you had not wanted.
For example, you could have close relatives that you have little or no contact with, regardless of it is just the way that it is or because there may have been a falling out. The reason for having no contact with them doesn’t matter and isn’t taken into consideration but when you pass away without a Will, they receive a share of your estate. Alternatively, you may not have any relatives when you pass away and then there is a very real chance that your estate may pass to the government.
In the situation where you do not have a spouse, the order of relatives who are eligible to inherit is as follows:
- Children;
- Parents;
- Brothers and sisters;
- Grandparents;
- Aunts and uncles; and
- Cousins
The situation becomes more complex if you have a legal spouse and a de facto spouse (i.e. you have separated and have a new unmarried partner), or you have children from different relationships. When it comes to blended families, we have gone into detail about Estate Planning for Blended Families in a previous blog post which outlines the specific requirements and issues that blended families may face when it comes to estate planning to make sure that you and your family are protected.
Making Things Easier With An Online Will
Every Will is different but there are some common things that everybody needs to take a moment to think about and consider before completing your Will. So what happens when you’re a busy working individual and you work during the day and to find the time to get an afternoon off to speak to a solicitor to get the ball rolling is definitely not something you have the headspace for?
Then answer this question; have you considered seeing if you can do an Online Will with our team at Canny Legal?
Canny Group has worked extremely hard to be able to give you the option of doing an Online Will – an Online Will that allows for busy professionals and families as well as those that would like some further advice to be able to start the process of completing your Will – but online!
We don’t just send you off into the legal wilderness without any help, before you can even start this process we want to make sure that you are getting the right Will for you! We formulated an online questionnaire that determines if you can do your Will online through our website, or if it is more complex and will need the help of one of our solicitors. By completing the questionnaire, you’ve already started the process and it gives us a greater understanding of where you are in life, how we can best help to protect your assets and ensure that your wishes are well noted.
Check it out here – it’s free and painless and it makes starting the process as easy as possible!
Canny Group Helping You Complete Your Online Will Australia-Wide!
What if we could make the process a little easier to be able to accommodate having a busy life? Having a 9-5 job where you get your half-hour lunch break that, realistically, isn’t enough time for you to meet with a solicitor? We get it, we’re busy working individuals too. Some of us have families and commitments outside of work that we would rather be attending than a meeting with a solicitor, but this is important, very important!
Canny Group has designed their Online Will to be done anywhere in Australia unless you have complex assets or family situations that will need specialised and tailored advice which we can do in-house. The whole process is user-friendly and easy to follow and all you need to do to make a start is complete our step-by-step questionnaire to see which option suits you and your situation best.
At the end of the day, you’re not going to be here to have to see the heartache and the stress of those around you when you pass away. It can be a hard pill to swallow but you can make it easier for them by having your affairs in order and ensuring that your Will is up to date. We understand that life is busy and you’re not thinking about what’s going to happen to your assets when you pass away but that’s what we’re here for – to make it easy.
Get in touch with our team today, and go and check out our Online Will to see if this is an option for you, the questionnaire will only take two minutes to complete and to give you a guide of what kind of Will you will need to protect you and your family. Plus, it’s quicker than finding the number to call your mechanic to book your car for a service!
