Legal Tip 256: Specifying Assets in Wills

If you are too specific in a will you might need to make frequent changes to it so that it reflects the changes to your life. This happens when you name assets rather than being descriptive generally.


Example 1

“I leave my house at 123 Smith Street to my children.”

What if you move and don’t change your will? The new house might not be caught and may form part of the residue and end up with someone else.


Example 2

“I leave my Westpac shares to Bart and my ANZ shares to Lisa”

What if you sell the ANZ shares and buy more Westpac? Bart could end up with twice as much as Lisa.


Grammar is also very important as one word can completely change the outcome.



Example 3

“I leave my 200 Westpac shares to Lisa”

If you had sold your Westpac shares Lisa would simply miss out on this gift, but….

“I leave 200 Westpac shares to Lisa” has a completely different meaning and effect.

In this situation the executor would need to go out and buy 200 Westpac shares to give to Lisa. As the gift is for 200 shares.

A huge difference before of the omission of one word “My”.

 

How often should you review your will?

My wife and I spent some time and money doing comprehensive estate planning a few years ago. The only thing that has changed is my daughter has grown up and matured ha ha and we are older..

 

Have a read of it yearly and make sure it comforms to your wishes still. As time passes family members die, marry, go insane, bankrupt, give birth, adopt etc (usually not in that order).

Legal Tip 164: How often should wills be reviewed? Legal Tip 164: How often should wills be reviewed?

 

Thank you Terry. Very grateful for all the resources you have made available here!

 

Or you may consider changing Executor if you have doubts or concerns about their judgement, willingness or ability to undertake the task.

 

Friend’s relative got caught out in an unrevised Will.

Stepfather left $100K to each step child, but friend’s relative was excluded as stepfather had loaned her $100K previously. In the Will, her debt was forgiven. But in the intervening years, friend had repaid the debt......

Heard talk of a challenge but do not know the outcome.

 

Hard to challenge a gift from a step parent

 

This may be for another thead but do inheritance rights of defacto children differ from natural children?

 

Yes. Unless adopted they are not your children generally