Do you have a will? Do we need one? What if I have nothing? Why should I have a will? How does Kiwisaver relate to wills

 

Do you have a will?  Should you have a will?  Why should I have a will when I own buggar all?

These are great questions to ask yourself.  When I teach my classes, I ask people to stick up their hands if they have a will.  Very few of them have.  I get all sorts of justifications for this, mostly they believe they have nothing to leave anyone.  Some think they are young so it doesn't matter.  Others think they have no children so it is irrelevant.  I am here to tell you it is very relevant.  If this is the only post on my blog you read in full, my job here is done!

This may sound like a morbid subject but it is quite the opposite.  People would like to think their families are looked after when we die.  They like to think there is enough money to pay for the funeral and sort out all the affairs.  Sometimes they have even gone to the extreme of taking out insurances to that effect, at great personal cost over their lives.

There is a huge advertising industry about this.  Everything from Funeral Insurance and Life Insurance, to forming Trusts and Companies to protect any assets.  

I  also ask people who have Kiwisaver to raise their hands - almost everybody has Kiwisaver so that is a wonderful thing.  Remember, Kiwisaver matures when we turn 65 or die, we can also use it to purchase our first home, if we are suffering hardship or we are terminally ill.  Interesting to think about.

Also I ask, who has Life Insurance or Funeral Insurance, many raise their hands.  Hmmmmmmm  lets think about this also for a moment.

A typical example of a class of 20 people: 

• 3 have a will.
• 18 have Kiwisaver
• 14 have life insurance
• 5 have funeral insurance

Considering this, if any of them die this is what happens

• The 3 that have a will, things should be relatively straight forward with the insurance companies and Kiwisaver in order to get money out to pay for their expenses and get to their next of kin.  Great news!!  While people are mourning they can focus on the person rather than the red tape.
• The 18 that have Kiwisaver, only 3 of them with a will, the other 15 will have left their families with years of battling for an ever-reducing amount of Kiwisaver.  It is very difficult to prove who the next of kin is without a will.  There could be somebody pop up and say they had been having an affair with the person for the last 10 years and make a claim, which would hold it up even longer.
• The 14 that have Life Insurance, apart from any of those that have a will, would have also left their families with a long battle in order to prove who the next of kin is.  
• The 5 that have Funeral Insurance, also have a battle on their hands without a will.  

You can't blame the insurance companies or the Kiwisaver providers for having difficulty with this, they are responsibly for making sure the person who should get that money gets it.  

Now that Kiwisaver is more the norm than the exception, everyone needs a will.

It doesn't have to be a complicated document or a huge expense.  I have access to a will kit and if you comment on this page I will get you to email me for a copy of it.  Once you get it, here is what you do:

• Print three copies, 
• fill it out, 
• select your executors, then 
• get a JP to witness your signature.  
• Never unstaple it and give one copy to each executor.  
• The executors don't have to be beneficiaries of the will they just have to be people you trust to do what you wish in the event of your death.  It also means you Kiwisaver and insurance money can be released to the appropriate person.  

Otherwise pop into your lawyer and get one, often it is part of the service when you purchase a house, make sure you do it when you are in there.  Don't wait.

This week a very dear friend of ours passed away, he had very little family and very little in the way of assets.  It has still been tricky in the absence of a will.  It is such a shame that it detracts from the process of giving him the fond farewell he deserves.

Please feel free to comment, share and/or follow my blog, if you need a will kit I am happy to send you one electronically but please fill it out and get it done.  You never know what is around the corner that is for sure.

Have a wonderful day everyone, and remember to look after each other, you don't know how much of an effect your reaction can have on someone.  Comment on things like "nice watch",  "you look lovely today"  people love to hear the positive.  Have fun out there.