When an estate planning attorney prepares a Will, it should abide the following, Under the Section 10 of the Succession Act 1981.

–    The Will must be in writing

–    Even if you have drafted the Will, it should be signed by the Will maker in the presence of two witnesses. The two witnesses must sign the Will and the residential address should be written.

–    While signing the Will, the executor and your will attorney must be there

  What are various types of Wills?

–    Nuncupative – this type of will is oral or dictated and it is limited to the sailors and military personnel

–    Holographic will – it is handwritten Will by the testator, and the signature and material terms must be handwritten by the testator.

–    Mystic – sealed until death

–    Unsolemn will – the executor is not named in the Will

–    Solemn will – signed by the testator and the witnesses

One more tip is to use the same pen which is used by you and the two witnesses. Suppose everyone uses a different pen then it can infer too many conclusions that witnesses signed the Will at different timings. It is also possible that during grant of representation, the Court may require each of the witnesses to sign an affidavit stating that the Will is not signed separately but it is signed at the same time in the presence of the Will maker.

One more misconception is that the Will is only for the wealthy people and it is quite wrong and the estate plan is for everyone.

 Today, many factors influence an estate plan, and if you think only a will be enough to pass to your dear children then it may not be enough.

Estate assets are dealt in accordance with the Will but there are many other factors too.

What do you understand by an estate asset?

An estate asset is held in your own name and the names of the assets are the real property held in your name.

What happens if you have non estate assets?

It cannot be dealt without a Will. Nonestate assets can be

–    A joint tenant

–    By your superannuation fund

–    By the family trust

Sometimes your property is under a joint tenancy and the right of ownership is held by two persons.

There are different types of Wills and Estate assets laws, for this you need set of expert lawyers like the ones from CunninghamLegal who can understand your requirements and are specialized in that field. Estate lawyers are primarily dealing with all the estates and will laws and also offers professional legal advice. We get distraught when our loved one passes away and often don’t know how to go about with the assets and you may need help from a probate attorney as you are the beneficiary of the estate and also need representation for your estate.