If you’re like most people, getting a Will falls into the “important, but not urgent” basket. If your time comes and you haven’t got around to preparing a will, then here’s what happens:
| If you’ve got… | Then… |
| A partner and no one else | Your partner receives the entire estate |
| A partner and children | Your partner receives your personal possessions, plus $155,000, and one third of the balance. The children then split the remaining two thirds. |
| A partner and parents | Your partner receives your personal possessions, plus $155,000, and two thirds of the balance. Your parents receive the balance. |
| Children and no one else | Your children receive the entire estate, split equally. |
| Parents and no one else | Your parents receive the entire estate, split equally. |
| Siblings and no one else | Your siblings receive the entire estate, split equally. |
| Grandparents or aunties/uncles and no one else | Half of your estate goes to your mother’s family (first to the parents, and if they’ve passed to the aunties/uncles), and half to the father’s family (split as per the mother’s side). |
| No one | Then everything goes to the Government. |
If you’re looking at the above, and it feels about right for your situation then there’s still good reason to get a Will. The process for your family if someone dies “intestate” (or without a Will) is more complicated than for someone who dies with a Will.
If you’ve got a Will, but it’s a little out of date, then the above will apply to any assets which aren’t covered by your existing Will. So, it’s critical that you periodically revisit your Will to make sure everything is covered.
In short, move getting (or updating) a Will up your to-do list—from “important and not urgent”, to “important and urgent”.
If you know you need a will then today’s the best day to start the process. Get in touch and we can get the ball rolling for you and guide the discussion to help you work out who-gets-what.
The obligatory disclaimer
This article is very high-level in nature and has turned complicated legal concepts into plain English. This means a lot of the detail is lost—get in touch with us (or your lawyer) to cover off the detail before making or updating a will.
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