Single Parents Will with young children

Single Parents Will is designed for single parents with young children who want to create a Testamentary Trust for them.

It appoints someone to look after your children if you should die. If you are a single parent and want to ensure that your children are with someone you trust, use this Will to nominate those people and hold your estate in trust for your children.

Single Parents Will

You can nominate someone in your Single Parents Will as a ‘testamentary guardian’ of your children. A testamentary guardian will be able to make decisions about the long term care of the child such as education or religion.

Appointing a testamentary guardian doesn’t necessarily mean that your child will live with that person. They will only have the daily care of your children if the other parent is dead and there is no other federal circuit and family court orders in place saying who your child is to live with.

(Legal Aid Qld)

Why do you need a Simple Will, a Single Parents Will, a Couples Will or a Testamentary Trust Will to protect your young children?

A lot of people put-off getting a Will because it’s either too hard, costs a lot of $ or don’t want to face the fact they’re going to die.

Your possessions won’t automatically go to your wife / husband or children – if you die without a Will then it’s a trip to the Supreme Court for Letters of Administration and that’s an expensive exercise.

When you make a simple will most of us without children just want to leave our estate (our property to our spouse, relatives or best friend with the beneficiary or person we trust to manage the distribution of that property.

How much a will costs will depend on whether you are going through a lawyer, the Public Trustee or using a do-it-yourself will kit either from the post office or online as we offer.

Even a Simple Will written by a solicitor can cost $300.00 and a Couples Will with young Children, a Will for a Single person with young children, or a complicated Will with a testamentary trust and a number of beneficiaries and distribution of gives may cost between about $2,000 and $3,000.

We aim to be competitive and provide a cost-effective, low-price Will for anyone who needs a Will to protect their family from unnecessary expenses later.

What if you don’t have a Single Parents Will?

It is important for everyone to make a Will – even if you don’t have a lot of property, money or possessions, it can save your family and friends money, time, arguments and make it easier for them when you die.

If you die without a Will the court decides how your estate and assets will be distributed and this is usually done according to a legal procedure. The court appoints a trustee executor who will receive your property according to this even though this may not be who you would have chosen to benefit.

When should I write a Single Parents Will?

It’s usually best to write your distribution wishes down as early as possible because you never know when the worst might happen. You should make a Will (or review and make a new Will) when:

• You’re just married or re-married (marriage revokes any existing Will);
• You change your name, or anyone named in the Will changes their name;
• If any Executor dies or becomes unwilling or unsuitable to act due to ill-health, age or any other reason;
• If a beneficiary dies;
• Entering into a de-facto relationship;
• Getting separated or divorced (divorce does not automatically revoke a Will);
• Buying a house, a unit or land or other significant property;
• Buying or starting a business, and;
• Turning 18 years old (when I was 17 and joined the armed services we automatically had to make a Will)

Wills are part of your financial planning and should not be a “last minute” item.

What about my underage children?

It may also be necessary to appoint a guardian for your children and rely on a testamentary trust for your estate to be administered.

A testamentary trust can be established under a will. It appoints a trustee or trustee company, who may also be the executor of the will, to use property of the estate in a way specified in the will, for the benefit of the beneficiary or beneficiaries.

Testamentary Trust Will

A Testamentary Trust is a trust established in a Will which does not come into effect until the person making the Will dies.  The person making their Will can change their Will at any time up to that point.

A Testamentary Trust can be created by simply saying in the Will that a trust is to be created on his death for a specific purpose and for the benefit of the named Beneficiaries. The terms of the trust including the trustees powers are then set out in detail in the Will. A trust created in this way is called a Testamentary Trust.

A Testamentary Trust can hold both the estate and property (or part of it) for a nominated person (your child) or a number of persons (Beneficiaries) and administered by the Trustee

If there are a number of Beneficiaries (such as 3 children of one or a blended marriage) the Trustee can be given the discretionary power to determine the entitlement of the Beneficiaries to the income and capital of the trust fund. Where these powers are given to a trustee the trust is said to be a Testamentary Discretionary Trust.

The use of a Testamentary trust provides the controllers of your estate with a range of benefits and choices including:

• the distribution of income and capital which may assist in minimising tax payable by your beneficiaries;
• your children may be married, and you may want to protect their interest in your estate from their matrimonial property in the form of a “bloodline” Trust;
• quarantine your property to a Beneficiary who is declared bankrupt where the property given would, in the ordinary course, be available to the trustee in bankruptcy as part of the bankrupt’s estate; where the property held on trust has not passed absolutely to the named beneficiary that would not be the case and the trust property would not be regarded as part of the Bankrupt’s estate and available to creditors;

These are just a few of the benefits of a Testamentary Trust Will.

If you are satisfied with the examples available you should download the appropriate version.

If you require a Testamentary Trust Will drafted for your specific needs, contact our consultant through the Contact Us page.

Who can make a Single Parents Will?

Any person over the age of 18 years who has the mental capacity to understand what they are doing can make a will.

Who will administer my Single Parents Will?

If your spouse or another person is to be named as your sole beneficiary in your will, it is often appropriate to name that person as your sole executor. There is nothing to prevent a beneficiary from being an executor. Otherwise you should appoint another adult – a member of your family, a friend or a professional adviser to act as executor

And finally:

You should keep a list of all assets and liabilities in a safe place with your Will, tell your executors where this is, and up-date this regularly to include the following:

• the names and contact details of anyone you wish to be notified of your death;
• details of all bank accounts, shares and property you own;
• details of superannuation policies, life insurance and other policies;
• any other source of income or debts;
• any specific wishes you have regarding your funeral and details of any “prepaid” funeral you may have organized.

Our Wills include a separate page for you to list any additional gifts that you want to make.

Live a long and happy life.

Contact us for any queries.