I went through a broker for life insurance. There are so many, with various definitions that I wanted to be sure we'd be looked after. For example, a lot of trauma cover insurances have an "any occupation" clause. Which means if you're capable of doing ANY other occupation than the one you had, they won't pay out. Things like making sure it's OWN occupation etc made a difference to us.
I still havent got around to organising wills. TBH, I'm scared of being ripped off by solicitors. I should just get quotes *sigh*
I hadn't thought about a will kit not standing up in court. If people have trouble with them I am surprised they are so popular. I guess if your will be uncomplicated it'd only be a couple hundread $$$ extra to have the will done through a solicitor, just for that extra peace of mind. We will still get a kit though I think, we have nothing complicated and everyone who knows us would also know that what we write done IS what we mean. Plus dh and I are always really clear in things like that so I'll be happy enough.
Re the insurance through super funds. Everyone has a very small amount of life insurance automatically through their super. What we have done is gotten our life, TPD and income protection insurance ALSO through our super fund. You can do this through all the super funds and usually the premium you pay for the insurance is much less than if you got it through a financial planner or went say direct to ING. It's worth knowing that ING and only a couple of others are underwritters for ALL the insurance companies. Kinda like how loads of the health insurance companies are actually owned by Medibank or MBF. The relevance of that is that ING is who our life insurance is with 'through' our super fund and the super fund has a deal with ING to discount the premiums because the super fund has so many members kwim whereas if you went through another insurance company they are actually wacking extra premium on top to get their cut. My point is that I looked at the premium to get insurance through my super fund and it was way less than getting it direct from ING (you can get an online quote). PLUS the insurance premium is taken directly out of my super fund so I don't miss the money in my weekly paycheck it just comes out of what my employer would normally pay my super fund, they are not actually contributing more for you. I hope I don't miss the money when I retire and want to access my super fund but hey I'd still rather that money in my pocket now while I have a young family and a huge home loan. The other great thing is that I'm not working now and don't plan to for ages and the premium keeps coming out of my super fund so I don't have to worry about that extra bill while things are tight. The amount we have is enough money for me to live off without worrying and being able to stay at home and look after our buba, and to pay off the home loan and them some extra for anything else. Hope I've made sense.
We have a DIY will. It's a temporary measure to cover the limbo stage of life we're currently in. We'll be looking at getting a one done by a slicitr before the end of the year, as we'll be a bit more complicated by then.
The thing about Will's and Will Kits (having just gone through a long process with my Aunty's will) is that for the Estate to be settled the court needs to have an original copy of the will. Given these things are sometimes done long, long before they are needed there is a likely chance of them being misplaced through various moves, spring cleans etc. The advantage of a solicitor preparing the will is that they will keep the original on file forever. In the case of my aunty, it was a small suburban solicitor that closed about 20 years ago. However they have to register with the Law Institute where all their papers go, so we were able to track the original will to a large firm in the city.
Will its get particularly troublesome if there are previous relationships, defacto situations, kids not living with you etc. I know this doesn't apply to you, Lara but you should be able to get a will and powers of attorney for sub-$400.
Can I just add I don't have a will (I am a lawyer) Don't remind DH LOL!
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Don't remind DH LOL!
Rory! 
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