You can draft your will online using the OneWill App. My Will's easy to use 6-steps guide your through the process of drafting a new Will or updating an existing Will.
Click on each step below to better understand the information required, and the purpose of this information.
There are 4 fundamental steps required to draft a legally binding Will in Australia. Step 1 covers the first of these, the Testator, or the person who is making the Will.
It is important that you enter your full legal name here. This is not only used to link your Will to you at the time of your death, but also required to obtain access to your estate after you are gone.
Your marital status at the time of your death has significant impacts on your estate plans. And changes in your marital status can invalidate previously drafted Wills. This is why OneWill asks that you update your Will every time your marital status changes.
Please note, if you are in a relationship it is important that you enter your partner's full legal name.
The second step that is fundamental in draft a Will is nominating your Executor/s, the person or persons you nominate to carry out your wishes after you are gone.
From a legal standing, it is all good and well to have a Will, but who is legally responsible for performing what is in the Will? This is why the executor is so important. Therefore, being an executor carries with it huge responsibilities, therefore assigning one should not be taken lightly.
This is also why we recommend you consider nominating your lawyer, financial advisor or another professional who can commit to his level of responsibility.
Using the OneWill App, you can Add a new Person using the "+ Add" button on the top right-hand side of Step 2, or if you have the person already created in the app, you can simply drag and drop the person from the People + Entities carousel on the top of the page to either the Primary or Secondary Executor field.
Please note that you executor much be 18 years of age at the time of your passing, and should be encouraged to have their own Will.
It is important you discuss your nomination with your executors before hand, and review your nominations periodically, touching base to make sure they your nominees are happy to continue to act as your executor at your passing.
One of the most important parts of creating a Will is assigning guardians who can act as parents to your underage children should you pass before they reach adult age. This is also arguably one of the most important reasons that people create their Will after starting a young family.
Likewise it is important to cover your pets and make sure they aren't ignored or worse once you pass.
Using the OneWill App, you can add Children using the "+ Add" button on the top right-hand side of Step 3.
Please note that a person is only categorised as a dependent child if they are under the age of 18, with a Relationship to testator of either "Son" or "Daughter".
Likewise, you can use the "+ Add" button to the right of Pets to add your Pets to your Will.
To nominate a guardian, simply drag and drop a person from the People + Entities carousel on the top of the page to your Child or Pet. You can also add Guardians by clicking in to the Guardianship or Pet view.
Will must nominate at least one Residual Beneficiary who will benefit from the remainder of your estate. The remainder simply refers to all of the property left over in your estate once all gifts have been allocated. We will touch on Residual Beneficiaries in Step 5.
Step 4 is the prequel!
In Step 4 you can nominate any property that you wish to gift to a person or entity. For example, leaving a gift to a charity is an opportunity to continue to support a cause that you supported in your lifetime.
You can add an existing Asset, or create a new Asset in your Will by using the "+ Add" button on the top right-hand side of Step 4.
To assign a beneficiary to a gift, simply drag and drop a person or charity from the People + Entities carousel on the top of the page to that gift.
The third step to the previously mentioned fundamental steps is nominating at least one Residual Beneficiary.
A Residual Beneficiary is a Person or Charity that will benefit from the remainder of your estate after all gifts have been assigned.
You can add a person or charity by clicking on the "+ Add" button on the top right-hand side of Step 5. Or you can assign an existing person or charity simply drag and drop that person or charity from the People + Entities carousel on the top of the page.
You have the legal right to exclude any one from your Will simply by not including them in it. However, your Children for example, have the legal right to dispute not being included in your Will.
You can add anyone in Step 6 to explicitly exclude them from your Will. Specifically adding them here, and explaining why they are being excluded limits their prospects of a successful legal dispute.
To add a person to exclude from your Will simply use the "+ Add" button on the top right-hand side of Step 6.
Use the Generate button to export your Will once you have filled and reviewed all of the above 6 steps.
Finally, after you have obtained and printed your new or update Will, you will need to execute, or sign the document for it to become legal. This is the fourth fundemental step in ensuring a legally binding Will.
Please find below instructions and steps to support you in signing your Will.
Before you sign your Will
The Testator
Witnesses (each)
After you have signed your Will
This screen contains a list of the people or entities you have linked to your OneWill online Will.
The colander button can be used to filter your dashboard by People or Entities.
You can use the '+" button to add a new Person or Entity to your will or you can view or edit the details of an existing Person or Entity simply by clicking on that Person or Entity.
Please note: the full legal name of the Person or Entity is required to ensure your wishes are adhered to.
This screen contains a list of your Assets such as Property, Vehicle, Public Shares, Private Shares, Generic Asset, Bank Account or Business Assets you have in your estate plans.
The colander button can be used to filter your dashboard by Assets.
The '+' button can be used to add new Assets to your will. You can view and edit the details of an existing Asset simply by clicking on that Asset.
This screen contains a list of your Digital Assets such as Facebook, Crypto-Currencies, Credit Card Rewards or any other Digital Assets.
You can use the '+' button to add a new Digital Asset to your will and you can view and edit the details of an Asset simply by clicking on that Asset.
You can use the Instructions textbox to add any wishes you would like for the Executor to adhere to, for example, to close the account or to keep it open in memoriam.
Please note: Changes to your Digital Assets will not require for your will to be updated and resigned.
The Wish screen contains a list of your Funeral Arrangements, Organ Donation, Instructions, Message, or other wishes.
You can create a new wish simply by clicking the '+' button on the top right-hand side of the screen. You can update an existing Wish simply by clicking on that wish.
You may chose to upload a Video or an Audio file; it is the 21st centuary after all.
You can leave a video instruction for your Executors or Lawyer just to help clarify your Will and wishes. Why not leave a message for that special loved one .. or not so loved one if you are so inclined.
Using the funeral arrangements wish type, you can leave your loved ones with instructions on how you would like your last day to be.
Just some of what you may want to consider are listed below:
Document if you would like for your organs to be donated for life-saving or life-transforming procedures or anatomical, therapeutic, medical or scientific purposes.
Organ donation does not affect funeral arranagments nor there are any financial costs to your family after your passing.
However, your family makes the final decision after your passing so it is important that you have this conversation now rather than relying on your OneWill only.
Please refer to the Donate Life website for more information.
This is pretty much where everything else goes.
You can attached a video message for your spouse, children, grandchildren or anyone else or leave instructions for your Executors on how to manage your estate.
You can clarify something in the Will. For example you may want to explain why you have chosen to include someone or exclude another.
On this screen, you can access your personal information such as your account details, postal address, your password and all related documents.
Please note: it is important that you enter your full legal name to ensure your Will is valid and not open to challenge on identification grounds.
In this section, you will find information such as your full name, gender, date of birth and other information required for positive identification.
Your address is another form of identification that the court will use to verify the validity of your Will.
Here you can find a complete list of all the documents that are related to your estate plans. This will include older and no longer relevant documentation that you may wish to keep as a baseline or a point of reference.
