Writing Will
 

Hi

How to write a will regarding taking care of kids.
does it have to be through a lawyer ? what about people who can not afford lawyer fees?

writing the will on piece of paper and give it to a relative will be ok?

Re: Writing Will
 

A will like that may not be worth the paper it is printed on.

If someone can't afford to pay for a will to be done by a solicitor, nor is able to do a proper one themselves, then they can use the FREE service of Australian Public Trustees... This one is in Queensland: http://www.pt.qld.gov.au/wills/

Benefits of making your Will for free with The Public Trustee:

Re: Writing Will
 

If you are married, or in a permanent relationship, one of the most important parts of your will is determining what happens if you are both killed in a single accident: in such circumstances the legal outcome will depend on which of you is determined to have died first. For this reason your will should include a clause which says that your partner will only inherit if they outlive you by a certain period of time (a week, a month, whatever you like): if they die within that time then your estate goes directly to the people you nominate, otherwise (assuming you leave the bulk to your partner) it goes to the people named in his/her will.

Just one of the points not always considered by people when writing their own wills.

Re: Writing Will
 

It is a mistake to think that the services provided by the public trustees are entirely free. Whilst the preparation of the will may be free, it will nominate the Public Trustee as the executor of the will and there will be fees attaching to that process. To quote, "Our executor fees for administering a deceased estate are individually determined according to the amount of work required to administer an estate."

Typically, if your estate is reasonably large, you may be better off paying the fixed fee for a solicitor to prepare your will rather than paying Trustee fees later - which may be based on a percentage of the estate value.

You can find "Will kits" both online and at newsagencies, but I think this is a false economy - expensive mistakes can be made and I think that you are normally better off having it prepared properly by a solicitor.

Re: Writing Will
 

You also need to make Enduring Powers of Attorney to specify who controls your affairs if you totally incapacitated (but not dead).

If you really can't afford a solicitor now the use the public trustee. You can always replace it with a lawyer's version when you can afford it.

Re: Writing Will
 

I did notice that the Public Trustee in WA is very expensive. More than a solicitor in QLD.