Avenues – August 2019

BY THE BOOK

40

T

raveloftenbringsaboutpeople

rushingtoeithercreateoramend

theirwillbeforea plannedtrip.

Kiwisaremorelikelytothinkaboutwills

whena majoreventoccurs,suchas

marriage(oritsfailure),childbirth,buyinga

home,orinternationaltravel.Therealityis,

thetimetoplanyourestateandmakea will

isnowbecausewhen you really need it, it

willbetoolate.

A willisa legaldocumentwhichprovides

forthedistributionofyourassetstonamed

beneficiaries.Formostpeople,thiswillbe

easytodetermine.Italsoallowsyoutorecord

anyguardianshipwishesforchildrenandany

specialfuneralarrangements.A willmayalso

includeanyspecificgiftssuchasjewellery,

medals,artworkorfurniture,orcash

paymentsyoumaywanttomake,whether to

family,charityorotherorganisations.

Everyoneovertheageof 18 yearsshould

havea validwill.Itshouldtakeaccountof

anymajorlifechanges,suchasmarriageor

separation,asmarriagerevokesyourwill

automatically unless you state otherwise.

Somethingelsetoconsiderisputting

EnduringPowersofAttorneyinplace.This

providesauthorityforsomeoneyouknow

andtrusttomanageyourlegalaffairs.

Whenit comestowritinga will,wesuggest

youobtainprofessionaladvice.Thecostis

notgreat,especiallywhenyouconsiderthe

alternative.If youdon’thavea will,orif it is

invalidforsomereason,thenwhatyouwould

liketohappenwithyourassetsmaynottake

place.If youdiewithouta will,yourassetswill

bedistributedaccordingtotheAdministration

Act.Thatis,thelawdetermineswhogetswhat

regardlessofwhatyoumayhavewanted, or

theneedsoffamilymembers.

Lawyersoftenseefamiliesemotionally

strugglingtodealwithwhatisleftbehind

followingthedeathofa lovedone.That

struggleisheightenedwhenthelovedonedies

withouta willorhasa willthatisinadequate.

So,whetherit’stravelthatpromptsyouinto

actionorsomeotherlifeevent,getit done for

thesakeofthosethatare left behind.

wynnwilliams.co.nz

DavidHaigh,Partner,
WynnWilliams
027 573 7775

Where there’s a will, there’s a way