Wills are often prepared by solicitors, but these days many people also use inexpensive do-it-yourself kits that can be obtained through local newsagents or from several Australian companies over the Internet.

Preparing a will is something that's advisable to do at any stage in your life.

Most wills need to be revised from time to time in light of changing life circumstances. And about 94% of all Australians do both of these things.

But this page explains what will occur if you don't have a will:

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• If you die without making a valid will you leave in a state known as "intestacy". This legal term means that a person has died owning property greater than the sum of his or her enforceable debts and funeral expenses.
   
• In cases of intestacy, assets are distributed according to a legal formula. This could mean that your assets might not end up with the people you would have chosen. It also means that you have no control over who distributes your assets.

 

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• A de facto spouse is a person who you treat as your partner but to whom you're not legally married. Each State has laws which set out the criteria for deciding whether a person is in a legal de facto relationship. Some of the issues that are usually considered include the length of the relationship and whether there are children. In some States, same-sex couples can also be considered de facto couples.
   
• If you die without a valid will, your de facto spouse may not inherit any of your assets. This depends on the law in each State. This is another good reason why it's important to have a valid will.
   
• However - as far as your children are concerned - they do not have to be born from a legal marriage to share in the distribution of your assets.

 

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• The legal system generally takes a number of issues into account when calculating the appropriate distribution of an intestate's assets, including the net value of the estate that's available for distribution after the payment of enforceable debts and funeral expenses and whether there are surviving spouses (and in some circumstances de facto spouses) or next of kin.
   
• The rules for distributing assets can be quite complex, but they're broadly based on the family that you've left behind. These rules can also vary slightly from one state to another. For example, in NSW the rules can be summarised as follows:
  • Assets are first distributed to your surviving husband/wife or de facto spouse and children. If there are no children, then the husband/wife or de facto inherits everything
  • If there are surviving children and a spouse/de facto, then there is a division between them according to a set sum with any excess divided equally between the children and the spouse/de facto
  • If there are children and no surviving spouse/de facto, then the children get equal shares of the estate. If any of the children has already died but has left children of their own (ie grandchildren of the deceased), then that child inherits their parents share
  • Assets are next distributed to any living next of kin (but only if there are no living children or spouses/children/grandchildren). If necessary, a search will be made to identify any living next of kin (including parents, siblings, half-siblings, grandparents, uncles and aunts and half-blood aunts and uncles)
  • Finally, if none of these apply then all remaining assets are passed to the Government

  Note: There are also special rules to do with the family home, which the spouse/de facto may inherit to the exclusion of any children.

 

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• Lost wills are more common than you may think - Government statistics reveal that around 6% of all people die intestate. And some of these had prepared a will, but it was unable to be found at the time of their death.
   
• If you believe that a will exists, you should look very hard for it. This might include asking the bank and the deceased's solicitor and accountant (and perhaps one or more trusted friends of the deceased). It's also worth checking trustee companies by placing an advertisement in newspapers or the journal of the Law Society (this would alert a solicitor who may have made the will).
   
• Ultimately,though, if a lost will can't be found than the deceased will be treated as having died intestate and all of the above will apply.

 

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• In the South Burnett, your local solicitor will be very happy to help you prepare a will and many have standard forms for this purpose. You can obtain an up-to-date list of all the South Burnett's solicitors from SouthBurnett.biz by clicking here.
   
• Some South Burnett newsagents also sell do-it-yourself Will Kits, and these are usually quite inexpensive. If you'd like to call your local newsagent to see if they stock these kits, you can get a listing of all South Burnett newsagencies from SouthBurnett.biz by clicking here.
   
• There are also several companies which sell do-it-yourself Will Kits over the Internet, but if you live in Queensland you should ensure that you purchase a kit which complies with Queensland law. You can find out who these are by searching Google.