Estate planning without the euphemisms

Estate planning is postponed because it requires thinking about dying. The postponement is understandable and the consequence falls entirely on the people left behind, at the worst possible moment.

A nomination is not a will

This is the single most common misunderstanding. A nominee is, in most cases, a receiver of the asset rather than its owner — a person authorised to take delivery on behalf of the legal heirs. Naming a nominee on every account and assuming the estate is handled is a widespread and costly error.

The practical list

1. Write a will. It can be short. An unregistered, properly witnessed will is valid and enormously better than none.
2. List your assets somewhere findable — including the ones only you know about, which is usually several.
3. Check nominations on every account, policy and folio, and make sure they match the will rather than contradicting it.
4. Tell someone where the documents are. A perfect will nobody can find is not a will.
5. Revisit after any major change: marriage, a child, a property, a business.