In 2023 South Australian law regarding Wills and estates is about to undergo a massive change.
For a long time, people have complained that it is too easy for gold-diggers to challenge a Will – especially adult children who are not deserving.
Think: estranged adult child who never visited or supported their old mum in any way, only turning up to claim a share of mum’s estate after she died.
YOYO stands for You’re On Your Own, and it has never been truer for Australian retirees.
In the 1980’s when Bob Hawke and Paul Keating changed government policy to encourage us all to save enough money for our eventual retirement, we did so with an expectation of mastering our own destiny to enjoy a wonderful and carefree retirement.
The idea was to reduce the dependence upon government funds for the old-age pension.
There has been a tremendous change in the social culture of Australia in the 40 years or so since superannuation commenced.
With Australians living longer than ever, their physical health is often declining slower than their mental capacity, requiring close family members to assume the role of agents and substitute decision makers for financial and legal matters, generally by way of an enduring power of attorney.
It is not surprising if you have never heard of ‘ademption’. Ademption is a legal term derived from a Latin word meaning ‘a taking away’.
Ademption occurs when property (either personal or real estate) gifted under a Will is no longer in the Will-maker’s (Testator’s) estate when they die.
The life of a business owner involves long work hours, travel and utilising all resources (time, energy, money etc) to grow their business.
It is no wonder that the combination of these factors can cause a strain on relationships and in some cases, results in separation.
Separation is never easy, but it can be even more difficult for business owners.
This is because business owners have the added uncertainty of having their jobs (and often livelihoods) tied up in a business that is considered an asset of the relationship.
You may already know that marriage automatically revokes all prior Wills (with a few special exceptions) in every state and territory in Australia.
But did you know that divorce does not necessarily have the same effect? Depending on where you live, your ex-spouse might still be entitled to inherit under your Will.
Further, your powers-of-attorney and advance directives are not affected by divorce at all.
If you overlook the need to get your affairs in order in an organised manner, it creates quite a mess for your family when you die or if you become incapacitated.
So here’s a few tips to help your family say “thank you”, rather than leave them a mess:
Keep your stuff in order
This is the number one estate-planning rule – one simple but crucial bit of wisdom that often gets overlooked.
You’re not alone. Every Australian family will be affected by dementia. As we get older, we need to have in place some important legal documents to protect ourselves, our family and our assets. If you wait too long, it could be too late.
In 2021 dementia affects almost 50 million people worldwide, which is predicted to increase to 131.5 million people by 2050.
Every three seconds another person somewhere in the world develops dementia.
The end of a relationship is tough. The loss of dreams and expectations can be heartbreaking.
When separating, every conversation becomes all about looking after the kids and dividing up your property.
However, now that you are no longer a couple, you also need to give some urgent attention to your estate planning.
Failing to update your estate planning documents can have serious consequences for you, your assets and your children.
After 37 years in legal practice, there isn’t much that still surprises Rod Genders.
He’s pretty much seen it all.
His law firm is the oldest in South Australia – established in 1848 – and like his father and his grandfather before him, Genders has spent his entire working life in the law, helping generations of Australian families to sort out a multitude of legal issues.
His areas of expertise are Wills and estates, and he describes witnessing a massive increase in litigation in these areas.
Trying to DIY the most important legal document in your life is a bad idea. This is a specialised area of law, and when you don’t know what you’re doing, it is very easy to make critical errors trying to do this yourself. Any mistakes you make won’t become apparent until you die, and it’s too late for you to fix them, so it will be your family who has the stress and cost of dealing with it all.
Here are 7 of the most common errors people make with DIY Wills: