9/67 Depot Street, Banyo Queensland 4014, Australia
Wills and deceased estates
Do you have a will?
It is important that you have will. If you have made a will a long time ago, it may be prudent that you dust it off and have it reviewed to make sure it will still achieve what you want to happen after you die.
Without a will, your family may suffer immense difficulty and expense in sorting out your affairs.
If you have any questions about making a will, or about your current will, please get in touch.
There are a lot of cheap "will kits" available at the news agencies, but these are often produced overseas and if you draft it yourself without any legal understanding of the intricacies involved, your loved ones may end up spending thousands trying to sort it out!
Unlike a lot of firms, I am a qualified lawyer and I will discus your wishes and draft your will personally. Many law firms offer cheap wills, but simply have unqualified staff draft your will and not a solicitor with the necessary expertise.
Before engaging anybody to draft your will, ask them who will actually be drafting it and what their qualifications are.
At $660 for a standard will, I'm confident that I can offer you great value for money and the peace of mind that your will has been drafted properly.
The details
In Queensland, wills must meet certain legal requirements including clearly identifying an executor, all the relevant beneficiaries, and accounting for all of your assets and liabilities. Wills also need to be signed a certain way, and your signature must be properly witnessed by two people who must also be properly identified in the will, and have no interest in your estate.
Many over-the-counter 'will kits' do not meet all the necessary legal requirements , or (if filled out without proper legal advice) may end up disbursing your estate entirely differently from what you had intended.
If you do not have a will, or your will is found not to have been drafted or executed properly, then there are complex legal rules about what will happen to your property after your death. It may not automatically be passed on to your children, or to your spouse. There will most likely be significant legal fees that will have to be paid out of your estate, or by your family, to have the matter rectified in the Courts.
It is important that you discuss your specific circumstances with an appropriately qualified lawyer, even if you intend making your own will without legal assistance.