If one good thing has come out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that more people are now thinking about what is going to happen to their assets when they die.
This is welcome news, but so many people are making the same mistakes when it comes to planning their Wills.
Here are the 7 most common mistakes people make:
- Trying to do estate planning by themselves, including drawing up ‘home-made’ Wills which can lead to mistakes and unnecessary costs.
- Appointing both accountants and lawyers as Executors, thereby doubling up on services and costs.
- Not being fully aware of the personal obligations placed on an Executor or Trustee, including their legal exposure, if something goes wrong.
- Putting in place complex estate plans which take months, even years, to finalise, rather than weeks.
- Not knowing the value of all the estate’s assets.
- Not understanding how to deal with children equally in a Will or trust when one (or more) of their children runs the family business.
- Nominating Executors ‘on the run’ without doing the proper homework.
The good news is, with proper advice, you can avoid these mistakes and protect your family’s future.
As featured in the August 2021 edition of Money Magazine Australia.
