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Searching for a free Last Will and Testament?

The only place I know that still has a free Will making service are the Public Trustee offices. However this is often accompanied by the Public Trustee needing to be appointed as executor of your Estate and charging a fee for administering your estate (often based on a percentage of your estate).

The alternative is one of our online Will LawPacks from only $14.50 and you can appoint whoever you like as your executor (usually a close family member or friend).

Buy one of our lawyer written Wills online and the Will Template (Word) and detailed step by step DIY instructions are immediately emailed to you by our sever twenty four hours a day seven days a week.

At only $14.50 a Will Kit from OnlineLegal may as well be a free Will. No travel. No inconvenience of needing to make an appointment. Twenty four hours a day seven days a week.

And our Wills are simple to use with lawyer written instructions to lead you every step on the way.

And if you’re not happy a 30 day money back guarantee. Plus a lowest price guarantee. Find a lower price for an equivalent product and the Will LawPack is yours free.

Don’t put it off any longer, make your Will now:

More online Will making and Estate Planning resources at: www.onlinelegal.com.au

Your “Will” only applies when you die. Your executors do not have power to make decisions for you during your lifetime.

An alternate decision maker (attorney) with power to make decisions for you during your lifetime is appointed by a Power of Attorney. If the power is to endure though an incapacity you may experience, the power needs to be expressed to be Enduring (and comply with legal requirements as to its form and manner of being signed).

The importance of having an alternate decision maker during your lifetime is illustrated in these examples:

Financial decision making

• If you are overseas on extend travel and you need a document signed or money transferred
• If you are injured or incapacitated and need a document signed or bills paid

Health decision making

If you are incapacitated and unable to make medical treatment decisions for yourself an appointment of an alternate decision maker (that endures through incapacity) provides your loved ones with certainty about who makes these decisions for you.

Online Power of Attorney resources

Victorian Financial Enduring Power of Attorney - For 1 | Vic Financial Enduring Power Of Attorney - For 2

South Australian General/Enduring Power of Attorney - For 1 | South Australian General/Enduring Power of Attorney - For 2

NSW Enduring/General Power of Attorney - For 1 | NSW Enduring/General Power of Attorney - For 2

Western Australian Enduring Power of Attorney - For 1 | Western Australian Enduring Power of Attorney - For 2

Queensland Enduring Power of Attorney - For 1 | Queensland Enduring Power of Attorney - For 2

More online resources: www.onlinelegal.com.au

I think there is.

Most Wills that I make for people have these simple (standard components):

1. Revoking prior Wills and declaring this to be the last Will.

2. Appointment of Executors (usually the Will makers surviving spouse, adult children or other close relatives or friends).

3. Gifting the whole estate to:

• surviving spouse; or
• children in equal shares; or
• between patents / siblings is equal shares.

4. Appointment of guardians of infant children.

5. Empowering Executors to manage and administer the estate (particular for the benefit of infant children).

Make your Will today with our Will LawPacks.

Will LawPacks for standard situations (from $14.50):

One Page Will (Basic) - for gifting to partner, children and grandchildren

One Page Will (Basic) - for gifting to partner, children and grandchildren (plus Guardian Appointment)

One Page Will (Basic) - for gifting to named people in certain percentages

Will LawPack for non-standard situations (from $28.95):

Advanced Will

More resources: www.onlinelegal.com.au

Is there such a thing as bullet proof asset protection? In my view, no.

Risk Analysis

The first step in asset protection is to identify the areas of your life (and the way you do things) that expose your hard won personal assets to risk of being grabbed by people seeking to unjustly seek windfall advantage from you.

We have developed over 50 targeted questions written after years of advising people in this area and consolidated them into an easy to use checklist.

Our questions are grouped under these themes:

Risk Management Plan

Once the risks are identified, what are the strategies to minimise those risks? Our Checklist helps you develop and implement a risk management plan to protect your personal assets.

Wealth creation by keeping what you have

Wealth creation is just as much about quarantining and protecting what you have as it is about new opportunities.

Take action today with our Personal Asset Protection Health Checklist only $19.95

More resources: www.onlinelegal.com.au

Here are my top five common Will making myths which have been informed by years of legal practice in this area, in Australia.

Myth 5: I have to list all my assets in my Will

Wrong. Most Wills are made by the Will maker gifting, “the whole of my estate of whatever nature and wherever situated”, to particular people.

The benefit of making a Will in this way is that you do not need to change your Will each time specific items of property change.

If specific items of property are listed in your Will and one of those items is sold the gift of that item of property fails. This can result in your intended beneficiaries being deprived of part of your Estate because an identified asset has been disposed of and therefore cannot be gifted by your Will.

Myth 4: Only a lawyer made Will is a valid Will

Wrong. There is a very famous case about a handwritten note simply saying, “All to mother” being held by a Court to be a valid Will.

Myth 3: A valid Will has to be witnessed by a lawyer or a JP

Wrong. The requirements for witnesses of Wills is that the witnesses be of age and capacity and independent to the Will maker.

The witnesses should understand that the document that they are witnessing is a Will and be satisfied that the Will maker has capacity (called testamentary capacity) to make a Will. If in doubt, seek legal advice.

Myth 2: A simple Will is more open to being challenged

Wrong. If the “age old” formal requirements for making a Will are followed (which are relatively simple) it is highly unlikely that a Will could be challenged on the basis that it lacked the right form. (See also Myth 4).

If there are those (for example close family members) who may have a claim against a Will maker’s assets if they are excluded or not adequately provided for, they will have that claim whether the Will is simple or complex. This is because such a claim arises as a matter of law.

If you are concerned about a claim someone may have against your estate take specific legal advice. I have also written an Article on my Blog site which may help: Avoiding a claim on your estate

My number 1 myth: I’ve got plenty of time

Wrong. We all know stories of people who have thought this and have had their lives tragically cut short.

The grief and cost for loved ones left behind who need to administer your affairs without a Will are huge.

It is far better, to make a simple Will today and change it in a month or so … after you have thought about it further than put off making any Will for a month or so which almost inevitably will become 6 months or so, no 12 months or so, no 24 months or so … or … never.

Make a Will today!

More Resources: www.OnlineLegal.com.au

Making a Will does not need to be complex.

We have developed a series of One Page Basic Will LawPacks to take the head ache out of the Will Making process for you.

This Will LawPacks include:

• A Word template (doc)
• Instructions and Additional Reading (pdf)

 

Download one of our lawyer written Will LawPacks 24/7 and you can have a Will made in less than 15 minutes. What could be simpler?

Don’t put off making that Will any longer. Find out more >

Better still this new range of One Page basic Will LawPacks are only $14.50. We don’t think you’ll find a better price for a Will anywhere. Please let us know if you do.

More Resources: www.onlinelegal.com.au

The importance of the manner in which a Will is signed and the process that is followed, so that you end up with a valid legal Will, cannot be underestimated. While there is beginning to be some relaxation in the law in this area, it remains best practice to follow the age old formalities.

Read your Will carefully

• Read the Will carefully to make sure that it complete and represents your intentions.
  
• Make sure all pages are present and are numbered
  
• If you are in any doubt - take additional legal advice from your usual lawyer.
  

Witnesses

• You must have two (2) witnesses
  
• The witnesses should both be over the age of 18 years.
  
• A witness must not be a person who is left anything in your Will (that is, a beneficiary).
  
• A witness must not be the husband or wife of a beneficiary, or engaged to marry a beneficiary.
  
• It is best practice that a witness should not be an executor
  

Signing and dating the Will

• You should explain to your witness that you have read your Will and that it correctly represents your intentions.
  
• Your witnesses need to be satisfied that you have capacity to make your Will at the time you sign. If the Will maker or witnesses are in any doubt about will making capacity further legal advice must be taken.
  
• The Will maker and witness should sign every page.
  
• You and your witnesses should all use the same pen and sign with your usual signature.
  
• The pen may be either biro or ink so long as it leaves a mark, which is non-erasable.
  
• You and your witnesses must all be present during the entire process of signing, and all persons present must watch each signature being written.
  
• Fill in the date in the space provided.
  
• The first witness must then sign on every page, and add his or her full name, occupation and address. Then the second witness must sign on each page and add his or her full name, occupation and address.
  

Extra safeguards

• It is best not to make hand written changes to your Will. It is far safer to make the change to the word document and reprint it.
  
• If you intend to sign your Will outside Australia, you will need to take additional specific legal advice.
  
• Once you have signed the Will, carefully staple it together in the top left corner and place it in safekeeping or store it in a place known to your executors. (If you muck up the stapling - it is best to reprint the Will and re-sign it rather than leaving extra holes or marks which raise the question of whether something else was attached to the Will.)
• Be careful not to mark the Will with a pin or paper clip. It can be folded.
  

This is just a sample of the detailed and practical content of LawPacks. See our complete list of wills starting from only $14.50

More resources: www.onlinelegal.com.au

Guardian Guidelines: An Overview

Guardian Guidelines are important not only if both parents of the child pass away but also for the surviving parent of a child. After the death of a parent, the surviving parent often experiences extreme isolation and difficultly in decision making. What a comfort for the survivor to know that they have already thought through many of the large life issues affecting the child with the parent who has passed away.

Our Desires for my Children LawPack leads you through these issues and creates a place for your thoughts to be documented and updated over time.

Here is a selection of the issues that we encourage parents to consider:

• Place to live - where would you like your child to be brought up?
• Others to be involved in you child’s upbringing and to what extent
• Medical / health / developmental issues
• Preferred approach to discipline
• Preferred approach to character development
• Religious instruction/involvement
• Family/cultural/traditional values
• Education preferences
• Extra Curricular Activity
• Money Management
• Part-time employment
• Travel

Our Desires for my Children LawPack provides a convenient way to collect these thoughts in an ordered manner with many prompts to help you in the detail of the guidelines you provide.

Consider this - you’re injured in a serious accident. Who makes decisions for you? Have your given someone power to do this? Have you let them know what your wishes are?

There can be a prolonged time between injury and death and many opportunities for dispute between family members about just what decisions you would have wanted to make about financial matters and medical treatment.

Be a peace-maker and settle the dispute now. Give clear authority to someone to make decisions for you in the event that you are incapacitated. You do this with an Enduring Power of Attorney.

Tips:

• Appoint someone who is close enough to you to know what your wishes would be
• If you Appoint more than one person, be sure that they are going to be able to agree

Many folk put off making an Enduring Power of Attorney until late in life. Sadly, this can sometimes open the way for doubt dispute about whether you had capacity to make the document. A recent Queensland Supreme Court case concerning an incapacitated Mr Edward McBryde shows just how important it is to make an Enduring Power of Attorney early.

Remove the doubt today, download your Power of Attorney now (24/7) from www.onlinelegal.com.au.

NSW Enduring Power Of Attorney LawPack

Qld Enduring Power of Attorney LawPack

SA General/Enduring Power Of Attorney LawPack

Vic Financial Enduring Power Of Attorney LawPack

WA Enduring Power Of Attorney LawPack

An Enduring Power of Attorney should form part of every estate plan.

Estate Planning without an Enduring Power of Attorney is craziness. Your Will only operates on your death. It takes a lot less to get sick.

An Enduring Power of Attorney is sometimes called a “Living Will” as it provides power to those you appoint to make decisions on your behalf during a time that you may be incapable of making such decisions for yourself.

An Enduring Power of Attorney is a simple and yet powerful document. Loved ones have the power to make necessary decisions and access any funds that may be needed to pay for appropriate care for you. Without an Enduring Power of Attorney, decisions can be protracted and expensive with the possibility of loved ones needing to obtain court orders to have decisions made.

LawPacks recommend that if you have not made an Enduring Power of Attorney that you make one NOW either by speaking with your lawyer or purchasing a DIY Enduring Power of Attorney LawPack from www.onlinelegal.com.au.

Do it now with an Enduring Power of Attorney LawPack from onlinelegal.com.au:

• Applicable to singles and couples. This LawPack can be used by you and your spouse / partner. TWO POWERS OF ATTORNEY FOR THE PRICE OF ONE!
• Completely DIY. Plain English with clear instructions.
• REUSABLE! If something changes - change your EPOA without paying again.
• Lawyer assured!

You can purchase the Enduring Power of Attorney LawPack  right now with immediate download from www.onlinelegal.com.au!