If I don’t have a Will everything goes to my spouse and children, doesn’t it?

If you pass away without leaving behind a valid Will, this means you will have died “intestate”. It will then be the provisions of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) which decides what happens to your Estate rather than your own wishes and intentions. The provisions of the Succession Act also set out who will take responsibility for administering your Estate. If you have one, your spouse will receive the first $150,000.00 of your Estate together with the household chattels, and then a share of the rest of your Estate depending on how many children you have, and those children will share the balance of the Estate with your Spouse.

 

If you don’t have a spouse or children then your parents, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces are the next in line. Most of us work hard during our lives to accumulate our assets, we are sure that you would prefer to provide for and control how those assets are dealt with on your death. We would be pleased through guide you through the process of preparing a Will and Estate Plan that ensures your wishes are observed.

Bank Accounts and Grants of Probate

We understand that there is a change of practice amongst the Banks in Australia as to when they will require a Grant of Probate for the Administration of an Estate. It was previously the case that if a deceased person held a number of Bank Accounts with a Bank, with those accounts being held in different states, that the Bank would only require a Grant of Probate in one state to release all of the different Bank Accounts.

 

However, there appears to have been a change in practice and we understand that the banks are now starting to insist upon a Grant of Probate being obtained in each different state in which a Bank Account is held. Unfortunately this will result in further delay and increased cost in the Administration of Estates when Grants of Probate are required.