The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a huge spike in Australians rushing to put their affairs in order, however a lot of the Wills that were created during this time may not be worth the paper they are printed on.
Rod Genders is a senior Australian lawyer from the oldest law from in South Australia (Genders and Partners established 1848), which specialises in Trusts, Wills and Estates.
He warns about the following common problems that he is seeing in his law practice from mistakes made by people in their COVID-era estate planning:
- Relying upon a DIY Will;
- Only planning for your death, but not your incapacity;
- Not creating a modern integrated estate plan, where each of the documents work together to protect yourself, your family and your assets in the event of your death or your incapacity;
- Not getting the titling, registration and ownership of your assets right;
- Trying to give away in your Will assets which do not belong to you outright alone;
- Failing to consider estate planning tools and techniques outside the Will;
- Not getting all documents validly signed and witnessed;
- Not properly funding trusts;
- Not appointing guardians for minor children;
- Not creating protective mechanisms in the Will to protect vulnerable people, especially children;
- Not understanding more sophisticated concepts relating to trusts, companies, superannuation, insurances, death benefit nominations, partnerships, guarantees, jointly-owned assets, loans, promises, ‘family provision’ issues.
For further information about the dangers of DIY Wills, read these articles:
- https://www.genders.com.au/the-7-deadly-sins-of-diy-wills/
- https://www.genders.com.au/errors-i-have-seen-in-diy-wills/
- https://www.genders.com.au/australian-supreme-court-says-diy-wills-are-a-curse/
- https://www.genders.com.au/the-dangers-of-diy-wills-and-estate-planning/
- https://www.genders.com.au/wills-in-adelaide-5-common-dangers-in-using-diy-kits/
Maybe during COVID you got a Will-kit, and maybe you’ve read a couple of articles on the internet, and you think you’d have a go to DIY the most important legal document in your life. But do you realise that the laws about Wills vary from State to State in Australia, and they also change from time to time? Most of the information on the internet is from other countries (especially America) which is not applicable in Australian States, and it tends to be very out of date.
If those mistakes weren’t enough, you should also consider that a Will alone is not the only document you need for an estate plan. Without an Advance Care Directive, power of attorney, trust, or guardianship you may not be providing for your family as you intend.
Contact the oldest law firm on South Australia – Genders and Partners, established 1848 – to learn more about retirement planning, superannuation, estate-planning and estate-administration solutions, by visiting our website today and schedule a free no obligation telephone consultation to find out how we can help you and yours.
Remember – any mistakes you make in your Will won’t become apparent until after you’re dead, and it’s too late for you to fix them. Get proper advice, and do it right.
It is also vitally important that you keep your Will and estate plan up to date – it is not a set-and-forget exercise.
To learn how to protect yourself, your family and your assets, by creating a professionally-made estate plan, claim your FREE 15 minute Telephone Consultation
Rod Genders is a senior Australian lawyer specialising in estate planning and accident compensation. His boutique specialist law firm is one of the oldest and most respected in Australia – visit it at www.genders.com.au .
Rod is also a prolific author and speaker. Some of his articles and books on Wills, Probate, Trusts, Estate Planning, Asset Protection and Retirement Planning may be found at www.estateplanners.net.au
We focus on keeping your estate planning strategy clear and understandable. If you would like to get started on developing your plan or putting it into action, please call us on (08) 8212 7233 or email us at mail@genders.com.au .
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