Is there a site where I can download free of charge a form to write my will on please?

Question

Is there a site where I can download free of charge a form to write my will on please?

Answer 1

I wouldn't do it.  The laws regarding wills vary in each state.  It is best to hire an attorney.

Answer 2

The only forms available on the internet appear to cost around $30.00. Newsagents usually have something a bit cheaper. Legally, however, a will could be written on an ordinary piece of paper. Importantly, for a will to be recognised at law it needs to be signed by the person making the will (the testator) in the presence of two other persons who also sign the document in the testator's presence and in the presence of each other. Witnesses should not be beneficiaries in that will.

That said, it is not surprising that a great many of these self made wills do not achieve the intentions of the persons making them and lead to challenges later from family members. This is why it is best to have your will drawn up by a solicitor. The NSW Public Trustee used to help people make their will, at no charge, providing the Public Trustee was made Executor of the estate. They would then get paid a fee based upon the value of the estate at the time it was settled. This is substantially more than the fee a solicitor will charge you to prepare and witness your will now. The Executor of your will in this case is not entitled to any fee, although you may stipulate in your will a reasonable amount to be paid to the Executor. When you have any sort of estate to be disposed of after you die, and have specific intentions about who should get what, this ought to be stipulated clearly in your last will and testament. In order to prevent any misunderstanding of your intention, therein, it is wise to have a person who understands the legal jargon to prepare it for you before you sign. A hand written self made will could name  a beneficiary as 'my favourite niece'  (the testator knowing clearly who this person is). However, when the testator is deceased, it could be that there are four nieces and each of them could then claim to be 'the favourite niece'. The testator is no longer around to clarify the situation.

If you want to be quite sure that your intentions regarding the disposal of your estate will not be misunderstood after you have died, get it drawn up by a solicitor. Before you see your solicitor write your will out the way you want things to be distributed. If you own real estate in joint names you cannot will that to anyone else as your survivor in the joint tenancy gets total possession of the property. If the real estate in owned as tenants in common, then you can dispose of your share as you wish. Read what you have written to see if it makes sense and is not ambiguous. Think about it for a few or more days and make any changes or modifications. Then see a solicitor. This will mean you spend less time with him making your intentions quite clear to him. He will put in down in the way required, legally. Once prepared you then sign it in his office and it will be witnessed at that time by the solicitor and one of the employees there. This does not mean that the will you make today will not be challenged after you have died. If you really want to be sure who gets what - the only real way is to give it away while you are still alive and have complete control over it. When you are dead you have lost this control. You rely upon your appointed Executor following your instructions according to your wishes as written in your last will and testament.