Benefits:
Maintaining a valid Will can assist in your assets being distributed according to your wishes upon death. You can bequest specific assets to people / organisations. [Child guardianship] You can nominate a guardian for your children. You will avoid additional costs to your Estate that can be significant if you die without a Will.
Points to Consider:
[Non-estate] Not all assets are included in your estate for distribution via your Will. Your non-estate assets include <tailor for client: superannuation / account-based pension / life insurance policies / jointly owned assets / assets owned through a trust or company / other>. [Child guardianship] You will need to include guardianship as part of the Will. A poorly constructed Will can be contested post-death or ruled as invalid and disregarded. Significant changes to circumstances can affect the validity of your Will. Ensure that you keep your Will up to date. Dependants needs to be adequately provided for in your Will.
37. Establish your Powers of Attorney We recommend that you seek legal advice to establish your Powers of Attorney (PoA). You should consider general, enduring, financial and medical Powers of Attorney. Benefits:
A Power of Attorney will allow you to choose who makes decisions on your behalf when you cannot. You can communicate your intentions in the event of medical emergency and / or death, to your nominated PoA. [General Power of Attorney] A general Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to make financial and legal decisions for you, usually for a specified period of time. For example, if you are overseas and unable to manage your legal affairs at home. This personal appointment becomes invalid if you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself. [Enduring Power of Attorney] An Enduring Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to make financial and legal decisions if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions. [Medical Power of Attorney] A Medical Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to make only medical decisions on your behalf if you become unable to do so yourself.
Points to Consider:
You need to keep your nominations up to date so that they reflect your wishes. You will need to engage your nominated PoAs as part of the process in establishing your PoAs. Powers of Attorney depend on the state or territory you are in; they can refer to just financial powers, or they might include broader guardianship powers. You may need to check with your local Public Trustee. You should carefully consider who to appoint to be your Power of Attorney, because this person will be responsible for important decisions made on your behalf. You may be able to nominate more than one person to act jointly, or jointly and severally. Once your paperwork is in order, it will help your executor and family if you list the legal documents you have and where they are kept. Records of personal information as well as asset details, ownership etc can be helpful also.
38. Review your Powers of Attorney We recommend that you seek legal advice to review your Powers of Attorney (PoA). You should consider general, enduring, financial and medical Powers of Attorney. Benefits:
A Power of Attorney will allow you to choose who makes decisions on your behalf when you cannot. You can communicate your intentions in the event of medical emergency and / or death, to your nominated PoA. [General Power of Attorney] A general Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to make financial and legal decisions for you, usually for a specified period of time. For example, if you are overseas and unable to manage your legal affairs at home. This personal appointment becomes invalid if you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself. [Enduring Power of Attorney] An Enduring Power of Attorney allows you to appoint a person to make financial and legal decisions if you lose the capacity to make your own decisions.
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