One of the common questions in the back of many people's minds is when should I update my Will and Power of Attorney documents?
Wills and other estate planning documents (like a Power of Attorney or Medical Guardianship) are 'live documents' that naturally need to be updated at different times of our life.
The trick is to learn to recognise the signs when you need to consider an update.
Now that assumes you have a Will or Power of Attorney already in place, and if you don't, we're more than happy to help you out with a complete solution.
But if you do have a Will or Power of Attorney documents already in place, here is a quick checklist outlining some of the trigger events to watch out for that may indicate it's time to review and update your estate planning paperwork.
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Signs you may need to update a Will or a Power of Attorney document
Here are some more obvious trigger events that could mean its time to review your Estate planning documents
Have You:
- Changed your name?
- Changed your gender marker?
- Changed your main residence?
- Gotten married, divorced, started a de-facto relationship or separated from your spouse?
- Had one or more children?
- Entered into a binding financial agreement before, during or at the end of a relationship?
- Started a business or a high-risk occupation or become a director or manager of any commercial enterprise?
- Become bankrupt or have solvency concerns?
- Invested in or acquired assets located outside of your home jurisdiction in Australia?
- Has the size of your estate significantly increased or decreased?
- Have you acquired significant assets jointly with a spouse or third party?
- Have you received a significant inheritance?
- Did you make any significant loans or gifts to family members, friends or third parties?
- Have you established any new companies, trusts, partnerships, or a self-managed superannuation fund?
- Have you entered into a new agreement with a third party that could affect your estate plan e.g., buy-sell agreements or partnership agreements?
- Are you worried that someone could challenge your estate planning arrangements?
Have your Executor(s) of your Will:
- Changed their name?
- Changed their gender marker?
- Changed their main residence?
- Gotten married, divorced, started a de-facto relationship or separated from their spouse?
- Lost the ability to manage their affairs or become financially irresponsible?
- Become estranged from you?
- Passed away?
Have any of the Beneficiaries to your Will:
- Changed their name?
- Changed their gender marker?
- Changed their main residence?
- Gotten married, divorced, started a de-facto relationship or separated from their spouse?
- Lost the ability to manage their affairs or become financially irresponsible?
- Become estranged from you?
- Passed away?
An important note on storing your Will
Pro Tip: A note on document storage. Important: Keep your Will safe - but don't hide it so that it can never be found. Storing the original signed (executed) document safely is important and it should be kept somewhere secure and known. A bank safe deposit box or a home filing cabinet in a conspicuously marked coloured envelope are good low-cost options. Fortunately for client of Sapience Financial they have access to our new National Secure Document Storage Service - for life.
Special provisions of clients of Sapience Financial & Finally Sorted
Sapience clients have access to our Secure Customer Portal accessible 24/7 through our bank-grade progressive web app.
Here they can:
- keep scanned copies of their key legal documents in their own secured online folder to ensure a master copy of the will is available to compare with the original to validate it has not been altered
- record and update their Executor's name and contact details,
- record and update a description of the location where they currently store their original physical documents
- use our National Will storage service for an independent solution.
This means at the right time, the right people have access to the right documents.
If you would like to update your Will or Power of Attorney, (or perhaps you have always wanted to get your estate planning finally sorted), we have the complete solution for you, so get in touch today.
Call us today on 1300 137 403 or email us here for a no-obligation private chat about your situation.
Drew Browne is a specialty Financial Risk Advisor working with Small Business Owners & their Families, Dual Income Professional Couples, and diverse families. He's an award-winning writer, speaker, financial adviser and business strategy mentor. His business Sapience Financial Group is committed to using business solutions for good in the community. In 2015 he was certified as a B Corp., and in 2017 was recognised in the inaugural Australian National Businesses of Tomorrow Awards. Today he advises Small Business Owners and their families, on how to protect themselves, from their businesses. He writes for successful Small Business Owners and Industry publications. You can read his Modern Small Business Leadership Blog here. You can connect with him on LinkedIn. Any information provided is general advice only and we have not considered your personal circumstances. Before making any decision on the basis of this advice you should consider if the advice is appropriate for you based on your particular circumstance.
