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Estimated Time to Build: 30 - 35 minutes
Jurisdiction: Australia Wide
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• Regular Binding - $41.8
Download the Will - Married or Defacto No Children Checklist
Sample is not available for this document.
Your Last name is your Family Name.
For example, your full name is "Peter Bernard Smith". Therefore, you would put:
First Name: Peter
Middle Name: Bernard
Last Name: Smith
Many countries, particularly non-western countries, put their Last name first. For example, this young lady's name is "Lu, Lisa Ye San". "Lu" is the last name. Therefore:
First Name: Lisa
Middle Name: Ye San
Last Name: Lu
This Will that you are building with LawCentral ensures that your name is expressed in the Will in a way that is preferred by the Government Departments in Australia. In this young lady's case her full name appears in the Will as Lisa Ye San Lu. That is the best format for an Australian Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Write all your middle names in the box marked "Middle Names".
For example your name is "Ye San Shu Sha Fi Yi Lu". "Ye" is your first name. "Lu" is your last night.
Therefore:
First Name: Ye
Middle Name: San Shu Sha Fi Yi
Last Name: Lu
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Why pay LawCentral to build your Will? Can’t you just do it yourself? Yes, you can but homemade Wills make lawyers rich. Homemade Wills can create disputes and ambiguity.
There are 2 languages in this world: normal language and lawyer language. The court looks at lawyer language.
What does “all my personal belongings” mean? Does it include the car and the bankbooks? Is this legal: “My husband can live in the house until he remarries?”
“Everything to my children”. What does “children” mean? The family court alone has 4 definitions of this word.
Seek quality. Build your Will at LawCentral. LawCentral gives you:
1. Privacy
2. Immediacy: Do it now - and get it now
3. Freedom: Do it your way - don't have a lawyer looking at you
4. Flexibility
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
In Australia if you die without a Will then you die “intestate”. However, you can’t really die without a Will because each state government gives you a Will of sorts. Without your own Will the state government takes charge. The state government distributes your property according to the laws of the state in which you die.
Such acts as the:
Administration Act (WA)
Succession Act 1981 (Qld)
Wills, Probate and Administration Act 1898 (NSW)
Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic)
Wills Act 1997 (Vic)
Administration and Probate Act 1919 (SA)
Wills Act 1936 (SA)
Administration and Probate Act 1935 (Tas)
Wills Act 1992 (Tas)
provide a complex formula specifying who is entitled to the intestate person's property. The lucky punters are:
1. the taxman (via Capital Gains Tax, state duty and Income Tax)
2. surviving spouse, separated spouse and defacto spouse;
3. children;
4. next of kin, including parents, siblings, nephews and nieces;
5. the government (after the state and federal tax office take their share the rest goes to the state government if your relatives can’t be found or identified)
These laws often result in your property being distributed against your wishes in an unfairly rigid order.
If you die without your own Will then you die a rudderless ship. Don't let the government meddle in your affairs, do a Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
This Will works in every state and territory in Australia. This Will operates throughout Australia. In other words this Will works in NSW, Qld, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, WA, NT and ACT.
This Will is for assets that you have in Australia. If you have assets in other countries then you may need to do a Will in that country or jurisdiction as well.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
1. Company assets
Company assets remain company assets. You can only refer to the shares in the company in the Will.
2. Family Trusts
Family Assets remain in the Family Trust. "Loan Accounts" however belong to the owner.
3. Joint Tenancy
You can own an asset with another person as "Joint Tenancy" or "Tenants in Common". If you own the asset as "Joint Tenants" then the survivor gets the assets - it doesn’t go into your Will. Your Will can’t control the asset, if you die first. You can destroy the “Joint Tenancy” by transferring the property back into the same names but as “Tenants in Common”. If you then die your interest in the asset goes into your Will. There are usually no state duty or Capital Gains Tax implications on such a transfer.
4. Superannuation
Super may or may not go into your Will. It depends on whether you have an enforceable binding nomination. If you don't then it depends on the discretion of the Trustee of your Super Fund.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
The Wills Handbook tells you how to sign a Will and gives help to your family about things they need to do when you die.
The Handbook is a gift to you only once you have build and paid for your LawCentral Will.
The Handbook won't help you prepare your Will. The Hints help you prepare the Will - not the Handbook.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
No, a Will does not require the signature of a solicitor.
A Will can be witnessed by any adult. However, a beneficiary must not witness the Will.
The LawCentral Will comes with a complete signing directions Manual for you to follow.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
A Will is basically a legal document that allows a dead person to tell living people what to do and they have to do it. This is an awesome power if you think about it. Not only does this allow a person to speak from beyond the grave, a Will also achieves a level of obedience that is seldom seen during life.
The most common function of a Will is to transfer the ownership of a deceased's assets to a designated beneficiary. Any assets that don't transfer automatically upon your death (e.g., Superannuation, family trust assets and real estate and bank accounts owned jointly with another) end up as part of the estate. A Will, then, acts as a back-up plan for how these assets get distributed once they are stuck in the estate.
On a similar note, a Will states who is to inherit assets from the estate. A Will can be used to distribute assets to a specific person(s) or to a favourite charity. A Will can also be used to leave a gift of a cherished item or monetary amount to somebody special left behind (e.g., caretaker or family friend). Without a Will, assets in the estate get distributed according to rigid state rules that don't always match your intentions, especially if they end up by default in the state's coffers.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Any Estate Planning or any Testamentary Trust?
Sorry, this is a straight forward Will. It is a simple Will. There is no consideration of your taxation matters.
There is no Estate Planning. There are no Testamentary Trusts in your Will.
There are about a dozen tax law firms in Australia, such as Law Central Legal, that can attend to Estate Planning and Testamentary Trusts. However, you are looking at $2,000 plus in legal fees for such quality advice.
Please contact Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 if you would like to speak to someone or email support@lawcentral.com.au about a more complex Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
The address in your Will is mostly used to identify you. There may be 2 "Jason Richard Brown" living in Australia.
Therefore, you should put in the address that you are living in at the time you sign your Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Sorry to hear that. However, you will need to put in the address of where you are sleeping the night you sign your Will.
If you are staying with your great aunt for a few months then put in her address.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Generally, when you have the Will "proved" the Courts like to see a residential address. They may get upset if they just see a Post Office Box as the address.
There may be many people on the planet with a name the same as yours. Your address on the day that you made your Will helps identify who you are. Sometimes your address is not very useful. You may be house-sitting. You may be "homeless". You may be travelling. For example you may live at "Landsdown Farm", 3 kilometres down the Metercup Road past Miling, over by the 3rd last tree.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
It looks better in the Will to put in the full name rather than the abbreviation.
However, both are correct. For example, Victoria could also be ‘Vic’.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That is an interesting question.
You should put in an address that clearly identifies you. The purpose of the address is to identify you.
If you are holidaying overseas then, yes, put in your residential address back in Australia.
There is a belief amongst some lawyers that the Probate office would prefer to see an address in Australia.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That is ok.
We are using the term "Spouse" in the question. This Will works for all relationships - gay, married, defacto or otherwise.
If you are leaving everything to your Spouse, then you are well on your way to building this Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That is fine. Most couples do, but you don't have to.
If you don't want to leave everything to your Spouse, then this Will is not for you. You should go to our Will called "Single Person No Children" and then you can leave everything to whoever you like!
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
A parent with babies and small children normally appoints all their children as Substitute Executors - even though they are all under 18 years of age.
This is because your children may well be 60 years of age when you die. You don't want to have to keep amending your Will all the time so you appoint your young children.
However, what happens if you die and your children are under 18 (or whatever age you selected as your Age of Majority)? Or you die and your unborn children never were born?
You need Substitute Executors. You can appoint your mum and dad. However, because they are older they are more likely to die before you. Therefore, you may want to appoint a brother, sister or younger aunt or uncle as Substitute Executors. Close family friends may also be happy to act as your Executor. Ask them first.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Your initial Executor:
1. may die before you;
2. may not want to do the job (it is a voluntary job after all); or
3. may be too old or lack the mental ability to sign documents.
What do you do then?
You appoint a Substitute Executor, just in case.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You need to put in an address for certainty.
There may be two Dick Seddons.
Therefore, to put more certainty into your Will you have to insert an address for the Substitute Executor.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Specific Gifts are not popular. Most people leave everything they own to their Spouse. If you are happy to do that then don't put in any Specific Gifts.
It is not a good idea to leave Specific Gifts if you are going to sell or give them away before you die. You could lose or use up the gift.
Instead of Specific Gifts think about leaving a "wish" list on a separate piece of paper. However, they aren’t binding on the Executor.
If you want a binding Specific Gift then you will need to complete this.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Any Specific gift added in this Will, comes out of the Estate before the residuary of the estate is distributed to the beneficiaries as set out in the residuary clause of the will.
It is important to note that if the item, the subject of a specific gift is disposed of before the death of the will maker then this gift will fail.
If the will maker wishes to bequeath an item that is likely to be sold or disposed of and then replaced (i.e. a car) then the will maker may wish to make a generic gift – i.e. I give “any car I own at the time of my death” as opposed to giving “my 2022 BMW motor car”.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
For a Will to be effective it must be certain. You therefore need to describe the gift with certainty. This creates complications. Let's say you want to leave all the money you have in your Commonwealth Bank Account, Number 387439744, to your nephew. Should you describe the gift as "all money in my account in my name being Commonwealth Bank, Account Number 387439744"?
What happens if the bank gives this account another identification number? What happens if you get Alzheimer’s Disease and your power of attorney moves the money to another bank for a better interest? You can't change your Will because you no longer have mental capacity.
This is yet another reason validating why we don't like Specific Gifts.
You could try all the money currently in "Commonwealth Bank Account Number 387439744", but does that include the interest? What if the money is put in another account - more money is then put in and then taken out. What money were you talking about?
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You need to describe the real estate with certainty.
This is an example only:
22 Grenville Street, Double Bay, Western Australia, being all the land contained in Lot 34 on Plan/Strata Plan/Diagram 52 Volume 34 Folio 7.
If you want your brother to have your interest in your family home then add to the description something like "however, if I no longer living at that address then all interest that I may have in the property that I am living as my usual place of residence at the date of my death". Of course if you moved into a rented retirement home then you brother will get nothing from this gift. That is another reason why we don't like Specific Gifts.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
The Specific Gift may no longer be in existence. It may have been lost, destroyed or used up.
For example, you may give away your V12 Jaguar sports as a Specific Gift. If you sold the V12 before you died then that gift merely fails in the Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
If any person dies then that Specific Gift fails and the Specific Gift goes back to the Estate.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Yes, you can. For example, you may want to leave all your jewellery to your sister. If you give some of that jewellery to your sister before you die, then she doesn't get it again when you die, as she already has it.
Another example: you give away all your tools to your friend next door. In your Will you left all your tools to your brother. Your brother misses out. The Specific Gift fails because you died with no tools. Your brother can't ask the Executors to pony up for the value of the tools. The gift fails and your brother gets no tools.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You can leave a gift to a charity however this Will is not designed to allow for gifts to charities. This is because gifts to charities need careful drafting.
If you wish to leave a specific gift to a charity talk to a lawyer - contact Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on admin@lawcentral.com.au
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Specific Gifts are not popular. Most people leave everything they own to their Spouse. If you are happy to do that then don't put in any Specific Gifts.
It is not a good idea to leave Specific Gifts if you are going to sell or give them away before you die. You could lose or use up the gift.
Instead of Specific Gifts think about leaving a "wish" list on a separate piece of paper. However, they aren’t binding on the Executor.
If you want a binding Specific Gift then you will need to complete this.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
For a Will to be effective it must be certain. You therefore need to describe the gift with certainty. This creates complications. Let's say you want to leave all the money you have in your Commonwealth Bank Account, Number 387439744, to your nephew. Should you describe the gift as "all money in my account in my name being Commonwealth Bank, Account Number 387439744"?
What happens if the bank gives this account another identification number? What happens if you get Alzheimer’s Disease and your power of attorney moves the money to another bank for a better interest? You can't change your Will because you no longer have mental capacity.
This is yet another reason validating why we don't like Specific Gifts.
You could try all the money currently in "Commonwealth Bank Account Number 387439744", but does that include the interest? What if the money is put in another account - more money is then put in and then taken out. What money were you talking about?
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You need to describe the real estate with certainty.
This is an example only:
22 Grenville Street, Double Bay, Western Australia, being all the land contained in Lot 34 on Plan/Strata Plan/Diagram 52 Volume 34 Folio 7.
If you want your brother to have your interest in your family home then add to the description something like "however, if I no longer living at that address then all interest that I may have in the property that I am living as my usual place of residence at the date of my death". Of course if you moved into a rented retirement home then you brother will get nothing from this gift. That is another reason why we don't like Specific Gifts.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
The Specific Gift may no longer be in existence. It may have been lost, destroyed or used up.
For example, you may give away your V12 Jaguar sports as a Specific Gift. If you sold the V12 before you died then that gift merely fails in the Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
If any person dies then that Specific Gift fails and the Specific Gift goes back to the Estate.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Yes, you can. For example, you may want to leave all your jewellery to your sister. If you give some of that jewellery to your sister before you die, then she doesn't get it again when you die, as she already has it.
Another example: you give away all your tools to your friend next door. In your Will you left all your tools to your brother. Your brother misses out. The Specific Gift fails because you died with no tools. Your brother can't ask the Executors to pony up for the value of the tools. The gift fails and your brother gets no tools.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You can leave a gift to a charity however this Will is not designed to allow for gifts to charities. This is because gifts to charities need careful drafting.
If you wish to leave a specific gift to a charity talk to a lawyer - contact Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on support@lawcentral.com.au
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
When you die you have only one right. That is the right to burial. You can however, put into you Will instructions to your Executor regarding how you wish to have your body disposed of.
For example, you can leave the wish to be cremated and the ashes sprinkled into the breeze at your favourite location, or you can have your body donated to science. You can ask that you are buried according to religious rights.
However, it is best to also discuss these wishes with your Executor and family members as often the process is completed before your Will is looked at.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That is a good question.
The sad answer is that you get buried or cremated before anyone takes a peek at your Will.
In many respects your Will is only really suppose to do one thing - that is - get rid of things you own. It isn't designed to dispose of your body.
Therefore, it is important to let your next of kin, loved ones and Executors know what you want done. The Will only helps back up what you want.
You can also pre-pay your funeral. That helps set the direction as to your wishes.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, answer "yes" to this question and then on the next page you can tell us how you want your body disposed of.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, answer "yes" to this question and then on the next page you can tell us how you want your body disposed of.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, answer "yes" to this question and then on the next page you can state in your Will the religious rites you want for your funeral.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Your Will is an economic document. It gives away what you own. Your Executor has to follow that economic direction to the letter.
However, your Executor is not bound to follow your wishes when it comes to your physical remains.
You can however, put into you Will instructions to your Executor on how you wish to have your body disposed. These are just "wishes" and "hopes".
For example, you can leave the wish to be cremated and the ashes sprinkled into the breeze at your favourite location, or you can have your body donated to science. You can ask that you are buried according to religious rites.
However, it is best to also discuss these wishes with your Executor as generally the process is completed before your Will is even opened. For example, if you want to donate your body to science then you need to fill out forms with the government and relevant universities.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
So you want to be silent about what you want done with your body?
Well that is easy. Just press "No".
It isn't legally binding anyway. It is a "wish". Often your Will is only read after you are cremated or buried.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
When you die you have only one right. That is the right to burial. You can however, put into you Will instructions to your Executor regarding how you wish to have your body disposed of.
For example, you can leave the wish to be cremated and the ashes sprinkled into the breeze at your favourite location, or you can have your body donated to science. You can ask that you are buried according to religious rights.
However, it is best to also discuss these wishes with your Executor and family members as often the process is completed before your Will is looked at.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That is a good question.
The sad answer is that you get buried or cremated before anyone takes a peek at your Will.
In many respects your Will is only really suppose to do one thing - that is - get rid of things you own. It isn't designed to dispose of your body.
Therefore, it is important to let your next of kin, loved ones and Executors know what you want done. The Will only helps back up what you want.
You can also pre-pay your funeral. That helps set the direction as to your wishes.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, answer "I want to be buried" to this question.
You can also specify whether you would like the Executor to follow the rites of your faith.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, you have 2 choices. You can answer :
"I want to be cremated and my ashes to be disposed of as my Executor sees fit"
OR
"I want to be cremated and my ashes to be"
and then specify what you would like done with your ashes.
You can also specify whether you would like the Executor to follow the rites of your faith.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, answer "To be used" to this question.
If you don’t want all of your organs and tissue to be used for organ donation, you can specify that on this page.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Well then, answer "Not to be used" to this question.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That is a good question.
The sad answer is that you often are buried or cremated before anyone takes a peek at your Will.
In many respects your Will is only really suppose to do one thing - that is - get rid of things you own. It isn't designed to dispose of your body.
Therefore, it is important to let your next of kin, loved ones and Executors know what you want done. The Will only helps back up what you want.
You can also pre-pay your funeral. That helps set the direction as to your wishes.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
That's fine. Just press "no".
(Obviously if you are already happily married then you would also press "no". As you are not contemplating getting married - you already were married before you signed your Will.)
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You answer "no".
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
If you ever get married to your defacto then this invalidates the Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
When making a Will you must know and understand what you are signing. You must either see or hear the written word. If you cannot see clearly, then you just need someone to read the Will to you.
This is a simple Will.
If you are fully or partially visually impaired, it is important that your Will is prepared in accordance with your wishes and signed correctly. You should get some advice from a lawyer to make sure these issues are addressed properly.
Please contact Greg Mohen at Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on support@lawcentral.com.au for expert legal advice.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
Yes, of course a blind person can make a Will. Provided a person is of sound mind they can make a Will - whether they can see or not.
It is common for people, especially as they get older, to not be able to focus properly on the written word.
However, this is a simple Will.
If you are fully or partially visually impaired, it is important that your Will is prepared in accordance with your wishes and signed correctly. You should get some advice from a lawyer to make sure these issues are addressed properly.
Please contact Greg Mohen at Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on support@lawcentral.com.au for expert legal advice.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
It is common for people, especially as they get older, to not be able to focus properly on the written word.
However, this is a simple Will.
If you are fully or partially visually impaired, it is important that your Will is prepared in accordance with your wishes and signed correctly. You should get some advice from a lawyer to make sure these issues are addressed properly.
Please contact Greg Mohen at Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on support@lawcentral.com.au for expert legal advice.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
The next question deals with this. This question is about whether your reading glasses are still operating.
We are not yet asking about your ability to understand the English language.
This question is about whether you have good eyesight.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
You must be of sound mind to make a valid Will. If you have suffered a stroke or have any other medical condition that might allow someone to say that you do not have mental capacity to make a Will, then you need to go to your doctor and get a note say that you are capable of making a Will, and then keep this letter with your Will.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
As your Will is created in English, you must be able to understand English to understand what you are signing. If you do not understand English the Will must be translated into a language you understand before it can be signed as a valid Will.
This is a simple Will.
If you cannot read or understand English, then you should get some advice from a lawyer to make sure your Will is prepared in accordance with your wishes and signed correctly.
Please contact Greg Mohen at Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on support@lawcentral.com.au for expert legal advice.
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
A Will must be signed in a formal way before it is considered a valid Will. For example, each page must be signed by the Will Maker and by two witnesses.
This is a simple Will.
If you cannot put pen to paper, then you should get some advice from a lawyer to make sure your Will is prepared in accordance with your wishes and signed correctly.
Please contact Greg Mohen at Law Central Legal on (08) 9476 4999 or by email on support@lawcentral.com.au for expert legal advice .
This hint is provided by Law Central Legal.
This document has been prepared by Law Central Legal
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