life insurance and writing a will - what to look for

[littlelara]

Hi all,
It has occurred to me that there are a few things that we need to sort out pronto, that should have been done long ago; namely the above.
So, in looking for life insurance, what do I need to know? Does anyone have any tips or advice?
The same applies for writing a will. I have no idea where to start or how to go about it, I just want to make sure the cubs are sorted should the worst happen (touching wood and all that). I've found two websites that will send out will kits, but they have varying information; are they both adequate? One is legal wills made easy, the other is the australia will kit. Do we need a solicitor?
The fact is, I hate even entertaining the thought, which is probably why I haven't done all this before. And it's a bit overwhelming to get my head around, frankly.
Any thoughts or advice would be unbelievably welcome
TIA x

[Epacris]

For the wills I just looked in the yellow pages and rang around getting quotes and a “feel” for the sort of service that different solicitors offered. If you’re (or your DH is) a member of a union sometimes there are solicitors associated with them that will do you a will (and some other documents like power of attorney) for a discounted rate. I found a huge range in price and service, some will do one document for a couple of hundred bucks, others a whole package for around $500, others wanted to go through your whole life with a fine tooth comb and were charging up to $3000.

So after I did that (decided who we would go with for our wills) I got side tracked looking into financial advice as well. So now we are re-doing everything, finances, wills, insurances (including life insurance) with one coordinating company, an independent financial advisor. I found them by googling and I rang several and we went to see a couple before deciding to go with them.

It’s complicated (well, I’ve found it so).... goodluck!

[Cherished]

Hi hon and thanks for your pm the other day

I have our life insurance through our super fund so the premium comes out of our super instead of our available money kwim I am also going to be buying a legal will kit and jotting something down on that.

gotta run dS is crying....

[littlelara]

Thanks guys (and you're most welcome, cherished).
So epacris, you wouldn't go with the will kits?

[Epacris]

I dunno, we are not a complicated family, i.e. there are no ex-partners or other children, no family that need to be cut out or anything, but I just don’t trust myself to DIY with something like that.

[Arimeh]

Thanks guys (and you're most welcome, cherished).
So epacris, you wouldn't go with the will kits?

The trouble with DIY kits is that they don't hold up very well in court, just in case someone wanted to cause some trouble

I would always recommend going with a solicitor.

[FabFiona]

We are another that has our life insurance through our superannuation. It's an easy way to do it and once it's done you don't have to think about it.

I'd also recommend getting your will done by a solicitor. We are both union members so got it done through our union recommended solicitors. Cost us nothing.

[littlelara]

Awesome advice, thank you so much

[Teeki]

With the life insurance, we used to just have the one through our super. But I dunno how it was worked out, and it wasn't enough for us. We saw a financial planner, and he got us a life insurance plan (which also includes income protection, trauma insurance and total and permanent disablement insurance) that is additional to our super. You need to consider any debts you have, and how much you'd like left over. I.e. DH & I have a home loan and car loan, so we have enough insurance to pay those in full, funeral costs, and additional to cover the other half to have enough to not have to go to work for a while.

The financial planner also said that the insurance plan we have pays out quicker than our super does - we wouldn't be able to cover any funeral costs if we were waiting for the payout from the super insurance.

[Roryrory]

wouldn't do a will kit lara - I can refer you to someone if you like....

[LionsandBears]

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*

[Cherished]

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.

[luna moth]

I think that makes sense cherished.

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.

[FabFiona]

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.

[Roryrory]

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!

[Epacris]

Rory!