FURTHER REASONS WHY A WILL IS A NECESSITY
Two recent cases clearly reveal why a Will is necessary for everyone.
Case 1
In this particular instance an individual purchased a property in the name of his Mother and guaranteed the loan for the repayments. It was always intended to be that individual’s property. No paperwork acknowledging the agreement was ever drawn up. The Mother subsequently passed away without leaving a Will.
Under the laws of intestacy surviving children are entitled to share equally. In this particular case there was a family in excess of 10 brothers and sisters. They reside all over the world. To enable an effective sale one of the children would have to make an application for letters of administration. In normal circumstances this are not a difficult thing to undertake but where there is so many children complications may and probably will arise. The cost of the individual in a situation like this will in all probability exceed $5,000.00 without additional costs if an argument as to who is entitled to what share of the late Mother’s estate commences. A simple Will allowing that individual recourse to their asset would have solved all of the problems.
Case 2
A person was residing overseas for some time and had been in a defacto relationship for approximately twenty years. The person ended their own life. They did not leave a Will.
As a result there was an insurance policy with certain rights to surviving relatives pursuant to the overseas intestacy laws. The person's mother was not interested in receiving a benefit and authorised lawyers to revoke her right to that benefit. The mother had remarried a second time and had four children from the second marriage. These four children were full half-brothers with the deceased and therefore entitled to an interest in the policy. Three of the four brothers were prepared to renounce an interest in the estate understanding it was only fair and equitable that it go to the surviving spouse. The family had not heard from the fourth brother for a period of in excess of 15 years and had no idea where he was.
Substantial costs and effort will now have to be undertaken to locate that person and determine what, if any claim they will make upon the insurance policy. In addition the existing estate will have to pay lawyer’s fees to deal with solicitors in Australia and the additional paperwork required in effectively renouncing the interest of the family of the deceased. A simple Will would have alleviated all of the problems that have arisen and certainly made the spouses’ life more bearable in light of the tragedy that she was already having to deal with.