A modern effective Will needs to deal specifically with life insurance proceeds, superannuation, guardianship of children, business assets or family trusts, matters almost never covered by “simple wills”. A modern Will should also offer tax and other protections to your beneficiaries through employing discretionary testamentary trusts to shield inheritances from the impact of divorce, bankruptcy and other disabilities.

If it is your intention to leave your estate to more than one child our Will gives your Executor power to ensure that all beneficiaries are treated equally. There is no guarantee under a simple will, that this outcome will be achieved because some assets are not covered by a Will, including superannuation, life insurance proceeds, family trust interests etc.

While a “simple will” may work, in most cases it will almost certainly result in more costly and time consuming outcomes, with potentially unhappy and frustrated beneficiaries, particularly those who realise too late how differently the process might have been managed.

So what’s covered by a two or three page Will?

What can go wrong with such Wills?

What can these shortcomings lead to?

Issues that should be covered by a modern estate planning Will

Essential estate planning steps for those with young children:

CONCLUSION


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