Draw up a Wills

HI

We are a Family with two children (11 &16) we got few properties , supper, Life `insurance, Bank money , jewelleries and two properties in Overseas.
we like to give current living home for my elder daughter and another property to younger one.

all the rest 50:50 to them.

so how do i setup this and how much will cost to doing this?

Can i nominate my Brother-in -law to act if we both died.

How will these property mortgages will settle or by who is doing?

I'm in S/E so pls let me know if any contacts.

MI

 

The first will was a do it yourself job but in retrospect I missed some of the complications

The next three wills I had drawn up by soliciters with mixed results

Last will I got drawn up I used the Victorian State Trustees.

Need help Making a Will? | State Trustees VIC

Their main office is in Footscray, near the station

I was quite happy with the way they went through our issues and discussing how the will could be structured.

 

beware of the state trustees - what is free now can be very costly later.

You should seek legal advice and have a solicitor draw up a will, preferrable one that knows about wills and estates. You should also seek advice which incorporates life insurance, super and tax advice, especially with overseas assets.

Cheap wills cost the most
Legal Tip 65: Free wills cost a fortune

 

State trustees will kill the estate with fees if they act as executor.
1. don't go to a suburban solicitor who just happens to do wills - unlikely they will have the expertise to deal with your situation
2. go see Terry W
3. money spent on 2 will be a great investment

 

Both of the lawyers above would be a good way to go.

Be wary of doing your own will. I am currently witnessing the fallout of a self prepared will that has failed to give effect to the intentions of the testator. I know what the testator wanted, however as drafted the will is wide open to a family provision application that could have otherwise been avoided.

 

How did you know the wills were no good? Did you try them out?

 

Full dress rehearsal?

 

Equity division here we go! Always liked judge Hallens Judgment.

 

Executors cannot just 'fix' things up either. Where the will is ambiguous or unclear they are duty bound to seek the advice of the courts - which is costly. if they don't then they will personally be liable to any beneficiary that misses out.

There are heaps of cases on home made wills and will kits.

 

We have a young client who just settled their PPOR last month, and then died without a will. Wife, 2 kids and no will makes for a messy situation. Add that to the sadness of the situation and it just more stress for those that are left behind.

 

No didn't try them out but one was with a local lawyer I didn't know and I got the feeling that he wasn't too interested, and he tried to charge me twice!
The other two were from solicitors I knew who I felt give me the amount of attention I needed.
Don't know any lawyers where I live now and as the State trustees are around the corner they will be fine.

 

As long as you are aware of their charges when seeking grant of probate and estate administration.

 

Administering the estate will probably start at 4% of the estate value for small estates reducing to about 1.1% for large estates plus there will be other fees charged per hour. Plus disbursements such as photocopying, postage etc.

Then there are further fees for them to act as trustee - similar percentages.
If you have underage children these fees could really eat into the capital of the trust.

 

DIY wills and trustees that offer free wills should be outlawed for the harm they dont explain

 

Interesting discussion, as usual guys.
So how does one chooses an executor?

If you wanted everything to be left to your (first and only) wife, would this be the course of action decided by default laws? Of course it does not cover events like dying together etc.

How to choose a good lawyer to draft up a will and how to know whether the will indeed is done properly?

Any ideas on cost roughly?

Curious about one last thing: how is the wording like: do you have to list every single asset and allocate to someone in particular or can you word like all assets/possessions to go to: 1. wife - if unable to (dead too etc), then 50% kid one, 50% kid 2. - if unable to (dead too etc), then all to parent 1.
That would give the flexibility of acquiring and disposing of assets without having to change the will.

Cheers guys

 

I've written a lot of legal tips on these topics over in the legal section.

When chosing an executor you should choose someone who will likely outlive you. Chosing your 80 year old aunty may not be a good idea if you are 20. Have at least 1 but maybe 2 or more back ups too. I have seen someone promise they would be executor and then the will maker died with the executor then refusing to do it - promising and actually doing it are 2 different things.

I charge at least $1100 for a simple will. It will take around 2 hours to go through the various issues, then drafting and going through the draft with the client and then changing things (sometimes more than one draft) and then signing and giving instructions on this and storage, when it should be changed etc. There are lawyers out there that will do a will for $200 so you have to ask yourself how good they will be. Ask about the lawyers qualifications. Some have masters degrees in wills and estates law, others may have specialist accreditation.

You can word the will so that it doesn't need to be changed when you buy new property - "I leave all my real property to Ouga" sort of thing. You can also back up in case that person dies before you. "if Ouga dies before me or within 42 days of my death the property goes to John" or "If I die leaving children and a child of mine has died then any gift to my child shall go to my child's children" etc ( and cover off in case they don't have children).

 

Thanks Terry - fantastic response.
It looks like it's pretty flexible with how it can be worded which is great. The cost looks reasonable too.
Will definitely look into it.

Can the executor be like a law firm? In the instance where I don't have another person younger who can be executor apart from my wife. Would the executor be able to change who the assets would be going to (so say the law firm could get all the assets to them instead to the intended recipients)?

Cheers

 

Executor could be a person in the law firm. If the firm is a company it could possibly be the company (never heard of this so not sure) but more commonly it would be a professional trustee company.

Executors cannot change distributions directly, but they may have some influence on changing things such as timing of a sale (subject to the will), charging fees (court approval may be needed), classifying beneficiaries, interpreting clauses, applying for super death benefits etc.

 

HI Terry,

Thanks for the information so look like you are based in Sydney so if you can do ours what do you need from my end?

MI

 

a large sum of cash and instructions on how you want your estate to be split up. Once I hear you version I will go through and ask you some 'what if' type questions and cover things you may have missed.