key takeaways
It's normal when planning to write your will to think: Why would I pay for a lawyer when I can just do it myself?
Well, think of it like this:
Your will may be the single most important legal document that you ever sign. It gifts all of the assets you own at your death, appoints someone to plan your funeral and sort through everything you leave behind, and it may even state who will care for your children or pets. So, maybe a better question would be: Why wouldn't I have an experienced professional prepare the most important legal document of my life?
not convinced yet?
Here are some reasons that a Do It Yourself (DIY) will may not work for you:
Mistakes are often made. There are a lot of areas in wills where you'd be surprised to see that a mistake has been made. Some of these common but serious mistakes include:
- Forgetting to appoint an executor or a guardian of minor children;
- Not dating the will;
- Not describing gifts properly;
- Leaving uncertain provisions; and
- Not having a gift of the estate balance after giving away specific items.
Not all types of assets are gifted through a will. A lawyer can advise you on how to ensure the assets that don't pass through your will go to the people you want to receive them.
You're probably not aware of the ways in which a will can be challenged. A lawyer will be able to help reduce the possibility of this happening.
Who you can give your superannuation to and how it is taxed is complicated and often is not controlled by your will.
You may inadvertently cause tax problems or Centrelink problems for the people you want to benefit in your will.
DIY wills are often witnessed incorrectly.
DIY wills are often handled and stored incorrectly, causing significant issues with the will being valid.
If you have health issues that impact your capacity to understand a will, it may be harder to prove you had capacity to make your will if you prepare it yourself.
This list is long and boring and not even exhaustive, but you get the idea. Imagine putting in all that time and effort to make sure your estate, assets and loved ones are taken care of when you're not around - only for one easily preventable mistake to ruin your wishes. And here's hoping there's only one.
Plus, with mistakes come problems. And these will be left up to your loved ones to handle.
What sort of problems can come from having a DIY will?
We've heard a lot of people say, "I won't care; I'll be dead". But do you really want to leave behind problems for your family and friends? It's the last thing they'll want to be dealing with in their time of mourning.
What sort of problems could you be leaving behind, you ask?
Well, there are a few. Including:
having an invalid will
If your will's invalid, it means there's no will at all. If this happens, then there are intestacy laws that set out who receives your assets, and it might not be who you want to give them to. Unintended family members or even a former spouse could inherit your assets.
time delay
There could be a time delay in determining whether the will is valid, fixing any problems and accessing your assets. If you have dependents, then this could seriously impact them in getting money for living expenses.
extra costs
If there are problems with your will, there will be extra costs. The extra costs usually far exceed the money you saved in legal fees by doing a DIY will.
emotional distress
There is usually emotional distress to your family and friends in having to deal with sorting out the problems with your will, and often a breakdown in family relationships.
Ask yourself this - would you want to deal with even just one of those problems if a loved one passed away? Probably not.
conclusion
If you didn't know about these problems before reading this article, it's a safe bet that your loved ones probably don't know about them either. Like we said earlier, your will may be the single most important legal document you ever sign. There's too much at stake to even think about risking it. If you're preparing a will, it's because you want to be sure everything and everyone are taken care of when you're gone, and getting legal assistance will help guarantee you do just that.
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