Last Will and Testament
Will
Having a Will is incredibly important. When someone passes away, having a Will makes settling their affairs much simpler. Making a will generally takes two appointments. The first appointment to take your instructions and the second appointment to sign your Will.
A simple Will is a Will that does not exclude anyone who may be able to make a claim, does not require trusts to be set up, is not overly complicated in who the assets are distributed to and there are no other such complex issues as assessing the capacity of the person making the Will.
Complex Wills
We can draft a complex Will which allows your family to take advantage of trust structures to ensure the assets you want to leave them are as secure as possible.
As complex Wills are bespoke and written for the specific individual's and their family's needs we charge for drafting these Wills on a time basis. If you have even modest assets, this can be money well spent for when your estate is administered.
In some instances, complex Wills can protect your assets to ensure they are not entangled in any family law issues or the assets are disbursed to ensure the best financial outcome for your family.
FAQ
What happens if I don’t have a Will?
What happens if I don’t have a Will?
Having a Will is important. If you pass away and you do not have a Will in place, it is called dying “intestate”.
Dying intestate makes the process of finalising your estate much more difficult and costly. This can add significant stress and an administrative burden to your family if they must go through your paperwork to understand what liabilities and assets you had at the time of your death.
The best way to avoid the stress and expense is to have a Will in place.
I have heard if I do have a Will it can still be costly?
I have heard if I do have a Will it can still be costly?
Even when you have a Will in place there are costs associated with finalising your estate. If you have assets in your own name, the banks, superannuation funds or other institutions holding your assets may require you to acquire “Probate” over your Will.
Probate is a process to validate that your Will is your final Will and Testament.
How long does it take to make a Will?
How long does it take to make a Will?
A simple Will generally takes two appointments.
The first appointment is to take instruction and to sign a temporary Will. We then use those instructions to draft the Will for your review. Once you are happy with your Will, we organise a short appointment for you to come in and sign it.
Can’t I just do one of the DIY kits?
Can’t I just do one of the DIY kits?
We do not recommend DIY Will kits.
A Will is an important document and there are other estate matters that need to be thought of during the drafting of your Will. For example, a solicitor will advise the best way to handle your estate to avoid unwanted claims.
We are experts at avoiding the pitfalls of everyday language and the ambiguities that can occur while writing Wills, for example: I leave my house to X. This sounds like a fair enough statement, but it can cause significant issues in the handling of an estate. Did the Will maker mean the house and its contents? There is a mortgage on the property. Should the mortgage be paid out first or does the person receiving the property need to pay that out? A tradesman was half way through building a pergola. Who is to pay for that, the estate or the person receiving the property? What about the rates owing? Who pays the rates? As you can see, there can be many factors to consider and sometimes making simple statements can avoid the complexities required to ensure your wishes are carried out.
Another common problem is that Will kits often do not make simple issues clear. One such issue is that a beneficiary cannot be a witness to the Will. If they do witness the Will, they may be at risk of not receiving the gift under the Will.
Our solicitors at Mott and Associates have extensive training to ensure pitfalls are avoided.
Is there a register of Wills?
Is there a register of Wills?
No. There no central repository for Wills in Queensland.
How much do you charge?
How much do you charge?
Please contact us for our current rates. It depends on what type of Will you require.
A simple Will covers most people. A Will may become more complex when there are issues such as family members being excluded, trusts being set up for beneficiaries, if there are issues around capacity of the person making the Will or the distribution of the assets is complex.
Please call us for more details.
My loved one had a will somewhere but I can't remember where. What do I do?
My loved one had a will somewhere but I can't remember where. What do I do?
Unfortunately, there are no comprehensive Will registers in Queensland.
We can contact the likely law firms on your behalf and send out advertisements to lawyers in the state or states likely to hold the Will.
Call us for more details.
