What are wills and why should you care about them?

Fun fact - turns out you can’t leave your fortune to your cat, but you can leave behind a trust to pay for their lifestyle after you’re gone!

You’re young, you’ve got the rest of your life ahead of you and the last thing on your mind is death.

We get it – focusing too much on your own mortality tends to lead to existential crises and no one needs that – however what we should be considering is putting together a will (how tidy was that segue?!)

Why do I need one?

The way of the world is that we all die at some point and when we do, it’s important our money is directed where we want it to go, instead of to the default locations that may not match your wishes.

And it’s not just our money we need to think about, it’s our assets; our car, our jewellery, our tech, our shares, our pets, any property we own - making it clear who or where you’d like it all directed not only ensures your wishes are catered for, but it also makes it far less complicated for your loved ones in the event of your death.

What happens if you don’t have a will and you pass away?

That's called dying intestate and it means that the laws of the state or territory that you live in will decide how your assets are distributed . This could mean that they are distributed in a way that does not align with your wishes. The order typically starts with your partner, then kids, then grandkids/great grandkids, parents, siblings, nephews/nieces, grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins.

No friends and no charities are included and if there are no living relatives, then the state will absorb your money and assets, which is less than ideal.

Currently (and quite surprisingly) more than half of adults in Australia don’t have a will set up, which is wild to us because they are just so easy to set up – so easy in fact, that you can do it from the comfort of your home by using State Trustees Online Will. 

Because it’s online, you can do it from anywhere in Australia. It takes around 30 minutes and costs $120. Plus, until July 31 this year, their online wills are 30% off and are available for just $84.00. For more information, or to create/update your will, just head here.

Speaking from experience, State Trustees have streamlined the whole process and made it less unintimidating. So if you’re looking for somewhere to go to finally tick ‘write will’ off your to-do list, then State Trustees is then place to start.
We also did a whole pod episode on wills back in season three, so if you need more info, just head here.

A big thank you to State Trustees for partnering with us to bring this blog post to life!