Appointment: Drafting your last Will and Testament
Welcome to Swanwick Murray Roche
Thank you for making a Will appointment with Swanwick Murray Roche Lawyers. We are here to guide you through the process of ensuring your estate is in order and to allow you peace of mind in the future.
Preparing for your Will appointment
Please bring your driver’s licence to your appointment. This article will list out all the typical questions and information you will need to prepare for this appointment.
If you are unable to gather all the information before your appointment, don’t worry – come to your appointment anyway.
Thinking about your will appointment
Before your will appointment, it is useful to think about your wishes with respect to who you wish to benefit from your estate (beneficiaries), who you wish to administer your estate (your executor) and who you wish to be the guardian of your children (if you have any under 18 years of age). At the appointment, we will provide guidance to you about your wishes.
Will appointment – Assets & Property
Property
For each property that you own, you will need to tell us:
- the address and lot & plan number;
- the rough market value of the property now;
- the outstanding balance of any mortgage attached to the property;
- the name/s in which the property is held in;
- if there is more than one owner, whether the property is held as tenants in common or joint tenants.
Property information will usually be found on rates notices and a title search of your property.
Bank Accounts
For each bank account that you have, you will need to tell us:
- where the account is held (i.e. what bank);
- who has access to the account;
- who the account holders are.
This will typically be found on a bank account statement.
Shares
If you have shares, it is best to bring the following details:
- rough estimate of current portfolio valuation OR (for more stable investors) the number of shares and who they are held with;
- the name of the owner/s of the shares;
- your broker’s details.
This information will typically be found on a dividend statement.
Life Insurance
If you have life insurances or insurance bonds, you should bring the following details:
- value of policy;
- who the policy is held with;
- name of nominated beneficiary
This information will usually be on the life insurance policy.
Loans (owed to you)
If anyone owes you money, please bring details (name of debtor, amount of loan).
Motor Vehicle
Please bring a copy of the registration paper OR details of the make, model and year of the car.
Household Contents
Please bring details of any notable household chattels or other items.
Trusts
Please bring copies of the trust deed, financial statements for each trust, and company constitutions (or memoranda and articles of association), shareholder agreements, amendments where the trustee is a company.
Companies / Partnerships
Please bring copies company constitutions (or memoranda and articles of association), shareholder agreements, amendments.
Superannuation
Please bring a copy of your superannuation account statement OR details of the name of your superannuation fund, any nominated beneficiary, the insurance component and account balance.
Digital Assets
Digital assets are any right or interest in data held in a digital format. This may include online data and credit held in an online account. Eg. lottery, communication services, betting accounts, social media services, game sites, subscriptions.
Please provide a current account statement.
Will Appointment – Liabilities & Debts
Loans (owed by you)
Please bring an account statement OR details of how much is owed on the loan, any security for the loan and who it is owed to.
Credit Cards
Please bring an account statement OR details of how much you owe and who it is owed to.
Margin Loans
Please bring a copy of the account statement OR details of how much you owe and who it is owed to.
Family Information
Please bring to the appointment the full legal names (including middle names) and dates of birth of your children (including any step-children, adopted children, etc), your partners (including ex-spouses or partners whether married or unmarried), parents, brothers and sisters.
Court Orders & Agreements
Please bring to your appointment a copy of any order including:
- family court order;
- claims;
- other judgements which bind you personally;
- separation agreements;
- parenting agreements etc.
Will Appointment – Contact
Any questions? – reach out to us via any means to start a conversation. All of our contact information is listed here on our Contact Page.
Download .pdf information sheet