Most Estate Planning lawyers get asked, most days of their professional life, to prepare a “simple Will”. What the lawyers know, but struggle to communicate with the clients, is that there is nothing simple about Wills, because there is nothing simple about Death, and there is nothing simple about your assets.
The problem with thinking A Will is a simple thing
The first problem is that most people believe it is a simple thing, that you put your assets and debts into it, then on your death your Executor uses it to give your assets (less the debts) to your family. Easy, right?
There are a few reasons that Wills are not this simple. First of all, there is a lot of stuff that is not actually covered by a Will, some of your assets are not covered, and some non asset problems are not covered.
Many things sit outside of your Will, so if your Estate Plan is only a Will then you have missed potentially your most valuable things. Superannuation is not bound by your Will, and any life insurance attached to it will also be paid independently of what it says in your Will. If you are in a romantic relationship then many other assets may not be covered, some because of survivorship (so your de facto or spouse just automatically inherits) and some because of pragmatic issues, like an asset that you thought was in joint names was actually just in your spouse’s name. If you run a company, even a small side hustle, this will sit outside of your Will and so will everything attached to it (like tax, and government departments calling your Executor for information).
There are also things that aren’t assets that your Executor will need to deal with. Questions like whether or not to apply for Probate, and if they do apply for Probate then how long will that take? What should they do with all of the junk? I think most people don’t realise how much of the stuff in their house is going to go to landfill. Charities don’t want it, your family already has a house full of their own stuff, and selling individual items on Facebook Marketplace simply takes too long. Does your family know what to do with all of this junk, or are they going to put pressure on the Executor to sell each individual piece (which the Executor does not actually have to do) and get upset when the Executor doesn’t sell your cutlery for $50?
Your Will does not cover your whole Estate. Your Will is one document, amongst many, that you need to complete to help your family. Your Will is also only one document that your Executor will need when the time comes. The problem with a request for a simple Will is that Estates are not simple.
There is an old adage about shorter documents, that if I had more time I would have written a shorter letter. It takes a much longer time to simplify things but still cover everything that needs to be covered. This is why we don’t do “simple” Wills, because Estates aren’t simple, death isn’t simple, your assets aren’t simple. Lastly even if the client wants a shorter document it is still going to take a long time to ensure that the simple document is accurate, the cost of an Estate Plan is in the lawyer’s time not the number of pages in the document.
If you are interested in doing a complete Estate Plan with us, then you could find out more about the price here, or you could book yourself in for a free 15 minute Quick Chat with Janis about your Estate Plan here. You are also welcome to use the contact details below to send any questions.