Your will - Wills

Everyone needs a will. If you do not have one Government, and not you, decides who gets your hard earned assets.Most of your life is spent working to build up assets to provide security for yourself and your family. Your will lets you (and not Government) decide who will receive your property and belongings after you die. Making a will is the only way in which you can make sure that your lifetimeïÿýs work is passed on to the people you choose.

Your will can also detail:

• Your wishes as to burial, cremation, organ donation, and life support systems
• Gifts you wish to make after your death
• Provisions you wish to make for pets
• If your children are under the age of 18 years, your will can nominate guardians for them, to make arrangements for their maintenance and education.

Formalities vary from country to country. In Australia, England and New Zealand to be valid your will must be:

• In writing - handwritten, typed or printed.
• Signed by you at the end of the will.
• Witnessed by two witnesses who must be present when you sign your will. They must also sign your will as witnesses in your presence.

Section 9 of the Will Solutions Act 1837 (an Act of the English Parliament which applies in New Zealand) provides:

This section applies only to Will Solutions required to be executed in accordance with the law of New Zealand or of some other country where the Will Solutions Act 1837 (Imp.) is in force.

If your will is not made in this way it will not be a valid will. It is therefore essential that the will is prepared by Your Lawyer, a trustee company, or an expert will creation package (such as DYOdocs).

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Everyone needs a will. If you do not have one Government, and not you, decides who gets your hard earned assets.

If you die without a will then you die "intestate and what happens then is like Russian roulette. The laws of the country (in New Zealand) or State Government (in New Zealand), all of which are different, decide who gets your property. The law provides a formula which sets out who is entitled to the property of a deceased person who does not leave a will. The formula is unlikely to distribute your assets in the way you would have wanted.

For example under section 77 of the Administration Act 1969 (New Zealand) succession to real and personal estate on intestacy is determined as follows:

Person or people intestate leaves	How estate to be distributed
1 Husband or wife or surviving de facto partner, but no issue and no parents	Personal chattels (as defined in section2(1)) The husband or wife or partner takes these absolutely
	Residue of the estate: This stands charged with the payment to the husband or wife or partner of NZ$121,500 (the prescribed amount), plus interest (at the rate prescribed by or under section 39 currently 7.5%) on that amount from the date of the death until that amount is paid or appropriated Anything that remains of the residue is held in trust for the husband or wife or partner absolutely
2 Husband or wife or surviving de facto partner, and issue	Personal chattels (as defined in section 2(1)): The husband or wife or partner takes these Residue of the estate: This stands charged with the payment to the husband or wife or partner of NZ$121,500, plus interest at 7.5% on that amount from the date of the death until that amount is paid or appropriated Anything that remains of the residue is held in trust as follows: a third for the husband or wife or partner absolutely; and two-thirds on the statutory trusts for the issue of the intestate
3 Husband or wife or surviving de facto partner, no issue, but 1 or both parents	Personal chattels (as defined in section 2(1)): The husband or wife or partner takes these Residue of the estate: this stands charged with the payment to the husband or wife or partner of NZ$121,500, plus interest at 7.5% on that amount from the date of the death until that amount is paid or appropriated anything that remains of the residue is held in trust as follows: two-thirds for the husband or wife or partner absolutely; and a third for the father and mother in equal shares absolutely or, if the intestate leaves only 1 parent, for that parent absolutely

Most of your life is spent working to build up assets to provide security for yourself and your family. Your will lets you (and not Government) decide who will receive your property and belongings after you die. Making a will is the only way in which you can make sure that your lifetimeïÿýs work is passed on to the people you choose.

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In New Zealand section 2 of the Will Solutions Amendment Act 1969 provides:

(4) Except as provided in section 6 of the Will Solutions Amendment Act 1955 or in subsection (1) or subsection (2) of this section, no will made, and no revocation of a will effected, by a person under the age of 18 years shall be valid or effective.

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You can make a will yourself if you wish by :

• Using an expert will creation package (such as DYOdocs). This is the most comprehensive option and cost efficient option open to you. This is because their comprehensive series of questions ensures that you consider and record all important matters.
• Using a lawyer or trustee company. The problem with such wills is that they are only as good as the information which you provide them. Many important matters are frequently not covered, or if they are the cost is very high. The trustee companies which charge you nothing to prepare your will do not do so out of the goodness of their hearts. They make the cost back many times over by high charges to administer your estate after your death.
• Using printed will forms which are available from stationers, or printed do it yourself will kits. These printed Will Solutions are normally very basic, and end up looking like a dogs breakfast due to you having to cross out the parts not relevant to you. They are not nearly as comprehensive as an expert will creation package.

You should never prepare your will yourself without using an expert will create package or will form. There have been very many cases where homemade wills were either unclear, not properly prepared, not properly signed or witnessed or caused an unwanted tax or (in Australia) capital gains tax liability.

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Your will appoints the executors and trustees who hold, manage and distribute your assets after your death, in accordance with the directions given in your will. When making a will, choosing the right executor is an important decision.

You can name one or more person(s) to act as executor(s) and trustee(s). Anyone can to be your executor. In Australia the executor must be 18 or older and in New Zealand 20 or older.

Before appointing anyone as an executor you should first ask them if they are prepared to take on that responsibility after your death. The duties expected of an executor can be difficult, demanding and time consuming.

In most cases, an executor will require legal or other professional representation or advice which of course involves costs and liabilities to the estate. Your chosen executor should be aware of the legal responsibilities and have some understanding of accounting, business practices and Taxation Solutions matters, particularly in Australia where capital gains tax is applicable.

Your partner will normally be appointed by you as the sole executor and trustee if they survive you and you are leaving all of your assets to your partner.

If your partner dies before you your adult children (i.e. those aged 20 or over) will normally be appointed by you as the only executors if you consider that they are then old enough and wise enough to carry out these responsibilities.

You can also appoint one or more adults whom you trust (either in addition to or instead of your partner and/or children) to be the executors and trustees of your will. Examples of when this is desirable are:

• If your partner or children need help to carry out the terms of the will, or
• If you believe there should be an outside person to make sure that the terms of your will are followed.

An outside trustee can also assist in sorting out any disagreements that may arise between the trustees. Choices of outside trustees include:

• A close family friend or friends.
• A relative or relatives.
• Lawyers and/or accountants. You can appoint "the partners of" a law firm or accounting firm as trustees e.g. "the partners of Ross Holmes Lawyers". Professionals usually charge on a time basis to administer your estate.
• Statutory trustee companies such as Public Trust, Guardian Trust, and Trustees Executors. You need to obtain details of their estate administration costs, as some trustee companies charge a percentage of the value of your estate, plus other charges. Such fees are often more than lawyers would charge.

Being an executor and trustee is a very responsible position. The executor has to obtain probate of the will from the High Court. Probate is the certificate granted by a court to confirm that the will of a deceased person has been proved and registered in the court and that a right to administer their effects has been granted to the executor proving the will. The executor then pays any taxes, debts or expenses before finally distributing the balance to the beneficiaries named in your will. You can provide in your will that the executor is to be paid for his or her work as executor.

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Yes your assets can be left to anyone. However if you do not make proper provision for your husband and wife, or in New Zealand and some Australian States your partner, or your children (particularly if they are dependent, they could challenge your will. This is an area of law upon which you need to take detailed legal advice if you do not wish to leave assets to your partner or one or more of your children.

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You can change your will at any time. If your circumstances change in any way, you should alter your will. However, you cannot make the alteration by, for instance, crossing something out on the original will and writing in your new wishes.

If the alterations are minor, you can make a codicil (a separate document in which you change a provision in your will). A codicil must be signed in the presence of two witnesses, in the same way as your will was. We strongly recommend (as do most will experts) that it is better to make a new will. One benefit of a new will is that your beneficiaries will not see (and possibly become upset about) the changes which you have made. The second benefit is that by having your wishes recorded in one document the possibility that the codicil may be overlooked or lost is avoided.

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The law differs between countries.

In New Zealand any will made before you get married will be automatically revoked (cancelled) when you marry, unless it is expressly stated in the will that it was made in contemplation of marriage.

Before you marry you should therefore make a new will containing a clause saying that it is made in contemplation of your marriage.

In New Zealand any gift or appointment (such as an executor or guardian) in favour of a former spouse in your will is automatically revoked (cancelled) when a divorce decree becomes absolute or a decree of nullity is made (Australia) or your marriage is dissolved (New Zealand).

You should always make a new will if you are divorced or are separated.

Section 2 of the Will Solutions Amendment Act 1977 provides:

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In the case of couples everything jointly owned passes by survivorship to the survivor regardless of what your will says. For most couples this means that only the will of the last of you is effective.

To make sure that the important wishes in your will are carried out you also need to change the ownership of all jointly owned property into ownership as tenants in common in equal shares. This legal term means simply that it no longer passes by survivorship to the last of you, but passes under the terms of your will.

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Australia

In Australia for specialist legal advice, search the Law Society's Accredited Specialist's Directory to find the nearest accredited Will Solutions and Estate law lawyer.

Probate Registry of the Supreme Court, New South Wales .

NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages

Will Solutions, Probate and Administration Act

United Kingom

Will and Probate information from the Court Service

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