If 54% of all adult Australians don’t have a valid Will this means that 54% of people will die ‘intestate’ and this usually creates unnecessary stress to those left behind. If you leave a Will which only considers part of your estate, you also die ‘intestate’.
It also means that you run the risk of your assets and personal belongings not being distributed as you would have wanted them to be and not going to the people you had hoped would receive a share as the law will make final decisions in how your Estate is distributed. This means that no consideration is given to the quality of a relationship with a family member or the relative importance or value you may have placed on an item which you would like to see gifted to someone after you are gone.
If you have a domestic partner (or life partner or de facto partner) who is not legally recognised as your spouse (through marriage, or a legally binding civil union), they will have to prove their status before being entitled to a share of your assets.
Dying intestate often creates much upset for family members who then pursue their case through the Court system. This method obviously incurs costly court and legal fees and ultimately reduces the value of the asset ‘pool’ or estate.
If a person dies intestate and has no family members and there are no objections from anyone, their Estate is handed over to the Government.