Did you know that 70% of Australian adults don’t have a legally binding Will?
We ask Lucy McMorron (Head of Partnerships) from Gathered Here about why this is one of the most important things you can do in your lifetime.
Why is it important to have a Will?
Regardless of how much you own, having an up-to-date Will is arguably one of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family. Not only can a Will legally protect your spouse, children, and assets, it can spell out exactly how you would like things handled after you have passed.
Making a Will is the best way of providing for those you leave behind. By making very precise decisions in relation to your property whilst alive, your Will alleviates worry for your family and makes life just a little easier at a very difficult time.
What happens when you don’t have one?
If you do not make a Will you die “intestate”. That is, your property will be distributed according to a formula, which may not be your intention. Your children, spouse or partner may not receive the protection you would have desired. The process of finalising your estate without a Will becomes complicated, costly and time consuming for the people left behind.
Creating a Will requires us to answer some difficult, but extremely important questions:
✅ Who do you want to have guardianship over your children and pets?
✅ How should your assets and estate should be distributed?
✅ Who do you want to be responsible for administering your estate?
✅ Are there any charities or causes you would like to include in your legacy?
By having a Will, you can ensure the answers to these questions will be as you’d wished. It also gives a thoughtful and easy way to leave a lasting legacy that reflects your values.
Why is it important to include a gift in your Will, if you can?
Gifts in Wills (or bequests), are the extraordinarily generous gifts left to not-for-profits in people’s Wills.
A large number of NFPs are reliant on these gifts to enable them to do their work and safeguard their mission for generations to come. Bequests will continue to be an extremely important income stream for NFPs for at least the next 20 years as other funding sources tighten and the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history takes place with an estimated $3.5 trillion being transferred in Australia from the Baby Boomer generation.
How does the process with Gathered Here work? How long does it take? What do you need to prepare/consider?
We know that many people don’t have a Will because they don’t know how to go about it, they think it’s expensive and time consuming. Not anymore!
Established in 2016, Gathered Here provides products and services to help people prepare for and manage end-of-life situations including Wills, Probate and Funerals. Our purpose is to redesign the death industry to be approachable and accessible and to give people the knowledge and tools they need to navigate everything relating to death with confidence and certainty.
Using our online Will platform you can create a legally binding Will for free – and update it for free whenever you need to in the future. It’s really easy and only takes 10 minutes. Prior to completing the Will, you’ll need to consider who you’d like as your executors as well as the guardians of your pets and/or children (if they are under 18 years of age).
To encourage our supporters to create a Will, we have partnered with Gathered Here, who are offering free and legally binding Wills in less than 10 minutes, with unlimited updates for life.
After you’ve provided for your loved ones, we would love you to consider leaving even a small percentage of your estate to Princes Court. Whilst this is not a requirement, a bequest or a gift in your Will is a lasting and meaningful way that you can make a difference to the future of others at Princes Court, ensuring the aged in our region always receive the care and enrichment they need and deserve.