Understanding who might inherit if you die young with no will
Posted on: 21 July 2016
Recent news articles have emphasised the importance of having a will drawn up if you are a young person. In many cases while younger people may not have many physical assets to their name, if injured in the workplace they can be eligible for workers compensation benefits as well as death benefits through superannuation. These benefits can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Here are some ideas of who may be eligible for you benefits if you die without a will.
Your parents
If you live at home and are single your parents are often the automatic choice for your benefits. If you are moving around share houses and continue to use your home address this can often mean that you are still recorded as living at home, which is important to know if you'd prefer that someone else such as your siblings received any benefits.
Your housemates
If you have housemates who are down as emergency contacts they may be able to claim that you are in a romantic defacto relationship, especially if you have had some history of intimacy. It can be a good idea if you are using a housemate as an emergency contact to have a seperate basic will drawn up which dictates who you would prefer to have as a next of kin. These can be drawn up by a lawyer and are relatively inexpensive if you are drawing up a simple will without too many clauses or conditions.
Your child or the parent of your child
If you have a child to someone, even if you are not in a relationship with their parent any more, they may be eligible for a payout under your estate if you pass away. For under age children this will be managed by their other parent if something happens to you. It can be a good idea to have a simple will in this case that dictates how much money the child gets, at what age they can access the money and who should manage the money if you do die young.
If you don't currently have a will, even if you have relatively few assets currently, it can be a good idea to get a simple will drawn up by a lawyer. This can ensure that your estate goes to the people that you would like it to go, and help people to understand your intentions for your estate if you do pass away at a young age. For more information, consult with a lawyer who specialises in drafting wills.
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