Rise in court cases for outdated wills

Having an outdated will may create more problems than not having a will, Equity Trustees believes.

The firm's national manager for estate planning, Anna Hacker, said it was increasingly common to see court cases challenging a will.

"It is becoming increasingly common to see court cases where someone has challenged a Will because they believe they have been left out, or not received their fair share, and in many cases this could have been avoided if the Will had been kept up-to-date," she said.

"I have seen long-standing rifts in previously close families because of such cases, and it would definitely have not been the wishes of the deceased to have caused such troubles."

Hacker said if a marriage had broken down since a will was written, it might not automatically mean the former partner would no longer be involved in the estate administration.

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"There have certainly been cases where an estranged spouse has received everything under a will after a bitter split, despite it clearly no longer being the deceased person's wishes.

She said wills should be reviewed every three to four years to make sure they reflect current circumstances.

"Spending just a couple of hours going through the will and updating it could save loved ones thousands of dollars, and significant distress, after you die," she said.

Hacker said the key areas when reviewing an estate plan were:

• Changes in family circumstances;
• If the attorney or executor needed to be reviewed or updated;
• Making sure the binding death benefit nomination in superannuation was up to date;
• Checking the will was in sync with superannuation; and
• Checking if any of the nominated beneficiaries were vulnerable.