Will and Power of Attorney Checklist Where the Willmaker does not have any children under the age of 18 years STEPS TO MAKING YOUR WILL Complete the attached Checklist Send the Checklist to KL Legal KL Legal will do a draft of your Will and/or Power of Attorney KL Legal will contact you to make an appointment to discuss your draft Will At the appointment, your solicitor will go through your Will and make any changes that are necessary to reflect your wishes Once the Will is correct, you will sign the Will at KL Legal s office at that appointment, and pay your account. The Power of Attorney will be sent to your Attorneys for acceptance and signing Once all documents have been signed, a copy will be sent to you The originals of all documents will be held by KL Legal until otherwise instructed by you. This is a complimentary service provided to clients If you need a personal appointment to discuss your Will before you fill out the Checklist, our normal hourly consultation rate will apply. KL Legal 1 Waugh Street CHINDERAH NSW 2487 PO Box 1617, KINGSCLIFF NSW 2487 Ph: 02 6674 0444 Fax: 02 6674 0433 admin@kllegal.com.au
CHECKLIST FOR MAKING A WILL/ POWER OF ATTORNEY Your Details Residential address: Postal address: Home phone: Mobile phone: Email Address: Occupation: Date of birth: Marital Status: Asset Inventory Property I own solely Land Address: Bank Accounts: Other: Property I own as a Joint Tenant Name of Joint Tenant Land Address: Bank Accounts: Other: Property I own as a Tenant in Common Name of Co-Tenant Land Address: Bank Accounts: Other: Joint tenant means if you die the other joint asset holder automatically receives your share. Tenant in common means if you die your half share will pass according to your will. Are you the Director of a Company or trustee of a trust? (tick one) No Yes
INSTRUCTIONS FOR YOUR WILL Executors Who will be your executors? Executor 1 would usually be your spouse. After that, the default Executors would be people of your age or younger who you trust and you are sure will carry out your wishes. The executors can be beneficiaries or relatives but should be over 18. Executor 1/Spouse? Address: Relationship: Executor 2? Address: Relationship: Executor 3? Address: Relationship: Please tick which option you prefer: Executor 1 is to make all decisions but if that Executor has died, then Executors 2 and 3 are to take over that role. The Executors are to make decisions together. Family Details: List any children, adopted children and step children including any you do not have contact with. Family Member Address Relationship Age
Gifts in your will: Do you have any specific gifts that you wish to make? If so, please specify the gifts and the recipient. If there is not enough space, please use another sheet of paper. Please specify how you want your Estate to be divided after all specific gifts have been made. For example, in a husband and wife situation, all of your Estate would usually pass to your wife then to any children if your wife died before you and then to any grandchildren of a son or daughter who predeceases you. If you and your family were involved in a catastrophic accident where there were no survivors, I suggest that your Estate be split evenly so that half goes to your family and half goes to your spouse s family. Please specify how the two halves are to be split. 1. My beneficiaries 2. Spouse s beneficiaries Special Wishes: (tick one) I want to be buried
I want to be cremated Do you have any special wishes regarding burial or cremation? Superannuation/Insurance Entitlements So that the wishes you have expressed above are carried into full effect you need to consult your financial adviser to ensure that your superannuation binding death benefit nomination and the ownership and beneficiaries of any insurance policies correctly reflect your intentions stated above.
ENDURING POWER OF ATTORNEY INSTRUCTIONS You should also consider giving an Enduring Power of Attorney to someone you trust. The Power of Attorney will let your Attorney sign documents on your behalf and will remain in force even though you may lose your mental capacity. This means that if you ever became mentally incapacitated, your Attorney could manage your affairs for you. I caution that the document is one of ultimate trust because it will allow your Attorney to operate your bank accounts and transfer your land and should therefore only be given to someone who you trust implicitly. If you want to, you can impose conditions on the circumstances in which the Power of Attorney will operate. After appointing your main Attorney, you should also give consideration to appointing an alternate Attorney if your main Attorney dies or becomes totally mentally or physically incapacitated. The alternate Attorney could be one or more of your children. Sometimes, clients request more than one child be appointed to avoid any ill feeling in the family and as a check and balance on the use of the power by the Attorney/s. Attorneys should be over 18 years old. Full name of Attorney #1: Attorney s residential address: Full name of Attorney #2: Alternate Attorney s residential address: Full name of Attorney #3: Alternate Attorney s residential address:
Attorneys 2 and 3 are only to sign documents on my behalf if Attorney 1 dies or becomes totally physically or mentally incapacitated: YES NO Please advise whether or not you want your Power of Attorney registered. This simply means that the document would be put on a public register and nobody could then say that the document was signed after the date of registration. That reduces any allegation of forgery. A Power of Attorney does not have to be registered to be valid. If you want the document registered, additional costs will be payable including the Government charge for registering your Power of Attorney. Please tick your choice. Register my Power of Attorney DON T register my Power of Attorney Please complete and return this form to:- KL Legal PO Box 1617 KINGSCLIFF NSW 2487 or FAX 02 6674 0433 or Scan & email to: admin@klegal.com.au
Power of Attorney or Enduring Guardian: Who will take care of me when I m old? Powers of Attorney are documents that have been around for hundreds of years. Put simply, a Power of Attorney is a document whereby one person the donor gives another the attorney - the power to sign legal documents on their behalf. They can be given by companies or individuals. For example, banks will sometimes appoint senior staff members to sign various specified documents on the bank s behalf. Historically, a Power of Attorney ceased to have effect if the donor lost their mental capacity but some years ago this was changed to allow a Power of Attorney to be enduring, to continue to have effect even if the donor had lost mental capacity. An Enduring Power of Attorney must state that it is to continue to have effect or even that it will only have effect if there is a loss of mental capacity, and a Certificate must be given by a lawyer as to the donor s understanding. These Enduring Powers of Attorney are now commonplace and most professional advisors will recommend that when a client makes a Will, with the increasing risk of dementia, it is a sensible precaution to also make an Enduring Power of Attorney once you have a loss of mental capacity it is too late! Powers of Attorney are also of use if the donor is going overseas for some time. The chosen Attorney will be able to look after the donor s affairs and sign whatever may be needed to be signed. Powers of Attorney can be narrow or wide; one can appoint a person to enable a specific transaction only to be carried out or the Power of Attorney may be very general. An Attorney must only act in the donor s interests and cannot receive any benefits unless this is specifically provided for in the actual Power of Attorney document. The Attorney must keep the donor s funds separate from their own. In Queensland, a Power of Attorney can deal with health and lifestyle decisions in addition to financial matters. However, in New South Wales a separate document known as an Appointment of Enduring Guardian is required to oversee health and lifestyle decisions. An Appointment of Enduring Guardian will only operate if the donor is unable to make the necessary decisions and typically the Guardian can decide what treatment and services the donor receives, give consent to medical and dental treatment, and decide as to where the donor should live. Many donors also include directions that they are not to be kept alive artificially in instances where life support is necessary to sustain life. With both Powers of Attorney and Enduring Guardianships there can be more than one person appointed or there can be substitutes named in case the original person is unable or unwilling to take on the position. With both documents, the Attorney or Guardian must accept the appointment in writing before using their authority and in the case of a Guardianship, that acceptance must be certified by a lawyer. One hopes that Enduring Powers of Attorney and Enduring Guardianships will never be needed but if that need should occur, having them in place can be a great relief to a family.