Hi Liz

Do what my husband and I did and  go through the Public Trustee's Office. Their service is free, only costs if you pass on and you want them to be the ones to sort out your will for you. They make sure that what you have stipulated in your will remains that way. This the best way as a solicitor will cost you do this up and the Public Trustee's is governmently run. Hope this has helped.

Sonia

I think the best thing is to make a will with a solicitor as they charge a one of up front fee and the words have to be just right, You can go to public trustees they can be cheaper but you pay at the end ( or should I say the family thats left pays) 

While it's great with the do it yourself kits now it's best to get pro help. If theres some lawyers on minti could help with this that would be another bonus for you. But please the words must be corectly placed in your will. if not there is a lot of heartache for the loved ones, yes it is a bit more difficult than we thought nowdays.

ciao Vicki        

I recommend going to a solicitor as they understand all the little details so in the event something happens then there is little to no chance of it being contested.  When we had ours done our solicitor witnessed them. 

If you want to leave certain items to specific people then you need to put that in there and we also put a guardian for the girls in it so we had no worries if something happened.  Also I would suggest nominating someone as an executor, you can use the public trustee but wouldn't you rather have someone who knows you deal with your assets and children?

I suggest going to a solicitor, just to cover all bases and they can also talk to you about an EPA and guardianship for minors etc. You can always call a couple in your local area to get a price range.

If you are doing it yourself, its also a good idea for you and your 2 witnesses to sign on EACH page (some Will kits dont need this) and to number the pages or the paragraphs. It is a good idea as that way no one can say that there was an extra page saying something extra.
We had a problem with this at work, not our Will, but someone was sure there was an extra page and there was a big family fight about it all.

Also be specific, if you have anything you wish to specially gift to someone, spell it out in simple words so there is no confusion.

If you are going to do it yourself, you need to state your full name, current address, current occupation.

You need to specify who you want to be the executor of the estate.

You need to have it all written out in clear and concise instructions.

Signing has to be in front of 2 witnesses, neither of whom are beneficiaries of the estate.

If you have specific funeral instructions - ie you want to be cremated, or body donated to science etc, this needs to be included.

When I worked for Public Trustee making wills, we always included full names of children that are to be included in the will whether it be as beneficiary or of guardianship. This helps to prevent if you have other children by a subsequent marriage etc that they not be included unless they are in the will.

I had mine done by the Public Trustee, and have stipulated other executors, so it will cost the estate no extra for someone impartial to handle the will.

Hope this helps you out.

Hey i am 29 and have had a will now for 5 years i did it just incase all it states is that everything goes to my children my blood children(incase dallas remarrys ever and has children they can t get anything and the same as if i remarry and have children they cant get anything of dallas') does that make sense. i have to beneficeries(if thats how ya spell it)which is my brother and a really good friend of ours.And my children is to go to a friend of ours i chose friends as i didnt want my children to be fought over and infact i dont want them to go to my inlaws.But i am about to change where my children go as my brother has since married and has a wonderful wife my children shall go to them.

hope that helps it is one less thing you have to worry about and its inplace just incase god forbid anything happens to you.cause once your gone and you dont have a will your kids can go to whoever and where ever and could also be put thru court not worth it.

Tassie

I've got a few things in place for G when it comes to her care if I should die. I've got a guardanship order in place that lists who she would go to. If for some reason the person I have chosen can't look after her then I have got someone else listed as well. I have quite specific terms on mine only because of my ex. I also have a power of attorney should something happen to me and I am left with brain damage etc. This allows someone to act on my behalf when it comes to G and all legal decsions. I went to legal aid and that helped me heaps. I also made sure that my Mum has a copy of it all, I've given one to Jd and one to my sister. Guess you could say I just wanted to cover all bases.

fi xoxo

You can get a do it yourself kit, or go to a lawyer, or go to your local Public Trustee. If you are also going to consider what you would like the care plans for your children to be you can work this out at the same time, if doing it yourself there's a seperate kit for the guardianship of children.

And if you're really worried about your family's future should something happen to you, it might also be wise to look into pre-paid funeral plans.

You can get an Australian Will kit online and do it yourself.  Sometimes they have a buy one will kit and you can get another for free. 

It is a booklet that explains all you need to know on how to write a legal will.   Basically a do it yourself kit.