If you die without a Will you don’t get to determine who benefits from your estate or who is in charge of administering your estate. The administration of your estate may be take a lot longer than if you had died with a Will in place.
If you die without a Will you have died intestate and the intestacy rules set out in the Administration and Probate Act will dictate how your estate will be dealt with.
You die leaving a partner but no children – Your partner will take your whole estate.
You die leaving a partner and a child or children of that partner – Your partner will take your whole estate.
You die leaving a partner and a child or children who are not a child of that partnership – Your partner will take all of your chattels and a “statutory legacy” (indexed to CPI), which was $451,909.00 as at 1 November 2017 (increased yearly by a formulae indexed to CPI). If your estate is worth less than the statutory legacy then your partner will take the whole estate. If your estate is worth more than the statutory legacy then your partner will also take ½ of the balance of your estate and your children (who were not children of the partnership) will take the remaining ½ of your estate shared equally if there is more than one child. If any of these children die before you then their children (your grandchildren) will take their share in equal shares.
You die leaving more than one partner – Without going into the detail, unless an agreement is with reached between the partners or the Court makes a distribution order, your estate will be shared equally between your partners.
Your die leaving no partners and so on….
Children – If you die leaving no partners then your estate will be distributed equally between your children. If your children die before you then the share they would have taken will be distributed to their children in equal shares.
Parents – If you die leaving no partners and no children then your estate will be distributed equally between your parents.
Siblings – if you die leaving no partners, no children and no parents then your estate will be distributed equally between your siblings and if any of your siblings die before you then the share they would have taken will go to their children (your nieces and nephews) in equal shares.
Grandparents – If you die leaving no partners, no children, no parents and no siblings or nieces or nephews, then your estate will be distributed to your grandparents equally.
Aunts, uncles or cousins – If you die leaving no partners, no children, no parents, no siblings or nieces or nephews, and no grandparents then your estate will be shared equally between your aunts and uncles, and if they die before you then the share they would have taken will go to your cousins equally.
Crown – and finally if none of the people described above have survived you then your estate will be left to the Crown.
For more information please contact Fleur on (03) 5636 4986.