How have most of you gone about this ? A work mate suggested The Public Trustee.

I've read the reviews of this organisation on Google and I think I'll look for other options .

A will needs to be made asap for general discussion as it sadly now appears to be on its deathbed thanks to not being allowed an opinion anymore.

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James said..
How have most of you gone about this ? A work mate suggested The Public Trustee.

I've read the reviews of this organisation on Google and I think I'll look for other options .

Having had to deal with the public trustee with my mother in law for a number of years now, I can only suggest that your considering other options is in fact a very, very good decision.
My personal decision was to go with the lawyer that I have used for other legal issues. Pay per service, not fees and charges etc etc etc.

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inglis2021 said..
A will needs to be made asap for general discussion as it sadly now appears to be on its deathbed thanks to not being allowed an opinion anymore.

Sport, obviously you are not happy here so may I humbly suggest that your happiness may be lurking elsewhere.
It is never too late to leave.!!!!

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UncleBob said..

James said..
How have most of you gone about this ? A work mate suggested The Public Trustee.

I've read the reviews of this organisation on Google and I think I'll look for other options .

Having had to deal with the public trustee with my mother in law for a number of years now, I can only suggest that your considering other options is in fact a very, very good decision.
My personal decision was to go with the lawyer that I have used for other legal issues. Pay per service, not fees and charges etc etc etc.

Thanks mate

yep, we've done the same, local lawyer.

Two options

1. Have no wealth so no reason to have a will.

2. Gift all your wealth before you fall off this flat earth.

3. Live the high life in old age, rack up lots of debt and leave that for your kids to sort out



Heard a story where a long lost son came out from the woodwork and contested his parent will so he would get a share of the family home. Only to be told the parents had sold the house and have been renting it back from the investors for over 10 years, (their other kids)

PS, I got my will done as a bonus buy the solicitor that handled the purchasing stuff when buying a property.

I have had to help out with testamentary trusts, and estate disbursements with the NSW PT on many occasions, and I can tell you from first hand experience that your decision to look elsewhere would be a good decision.

For our personal docs, we used a local lawyer who specialised in Estate Planning.

I used the free online service. You just need to sign up and then cancel your subscription. It's all legit. Just need some witnesses and someone to store a second copy with. I'll search for the link if you're keen. For me it was mostly about the legal entitlement of the bank to transfer the mortgage to my wife, which sadly couldn't happen without the will as was highlighted in a recent news story which prompted me to get the will.
While we're on the topic of dying, has anyone got a great life insurer? AAMI offered me a crap deal on my ute insurance renewal so I've decided to cancel every policy I have with them.

If you don't want your Will contested, I think a Trust is the best way to go. It seems that under Australian Law, a Will isn't worth the paper it's written on (if it is contested). Do a Google search on contesting Wills and you can read the horror stories....

Best check with a Solicitor.

Maybe ask in the windsailing forum, most there have probably, or at least should have, done the will thing by now.
Most of us others still think we are indestructible and wont need to worry about a will till we reach that age bracket when we complain about how "things were so much better back in my day". lol

The Public Trustee is a branch of the government and as such cannot be trusted.

No point in getting a will made up, especially if you live in the greater Brisbane region. As the forecast below clearly indicates the end of days will be early Tuesday next week.

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Craig66 said..
Two options

1. Have no wealth so no reason to have a will.
2. Gift all your wealth before you fall off this flat earth.
3. Live the high life in old age, rack up lots of debt and leave that for your kids to sort out



Heard a story where a long lost son came out from the woodwork and contested his parent will so he would get a share of the family home. Only to be told the parents had sold the house and have been renting it back from the investors for over 10 years, (their other kids)

PS, I got my will done as a bonus buy the solicitor that handled the purchasing stuff when buying a property.

Three kinds of people on this earth, those who can count and.....

These guys made a will

I used Legal consolidated .com.au. Perth based. You choose the appropriate will online and fill in the pages online. About $500 bucks. There are self help videos included and you can ring the principal (Prof) Brett Davies at any time to ask questions. Good guy and well known in this field.
I can only stress that having a proper Testamentary Trust set up by will is essential and will avoid possible legal challenges, not to mention that your executor can control everything (according to your wishes), but own nothing and keep prying hands at bay. The trust also has tax benefits for the first 3 years. Avoid public trustees at all costs. I am the executor of 3 wills now and know a bit about the process. If you have kids especially, just do it.

Thanks for all the input guys . Some sound advice offered on this thread .

My wife & I made a will 2 years ago. The public trustee we saw in Perth simplified the process for us & it cost about $500 for the 2 of us.

It allowed us to specify & correctly write exactly what we wanted to do. We made my sister the executor & the will is stored in the West Australian Will Bank.

The only problem using the trustee I can envisage is if you were unable to nominate an executor coz then the annual fees for the trustee or whoever it is in that organisation get very costly. But for us it was a simple, cheap yet safe way for us to make a will.

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MickPC said..
My wife & I made a will 2 years ago. The public trustee we saw in Perth simplified the process for us & it cost about $500 for the 2 of us.

It allowed us to specify & correctly write exactly what we wanted to do. We made my sister the executor & the will is stored in the West Australian Will Bank.

The only problem using the trustee I can envisage is if you were unable to nominate an executor coz then the annual fees for the trustee or whoever it is in that organisation get very costly. But for us it was a simple, cheap yet safe way for us to make a will.

PT staff don't have the broad knowledge base that a solicitor does.

drafting a will is far more than simply formally recording your wishes and directions. you need to consider superannuation, tax, life insurance, potential international & interstate complications, family law, company law, guardianship, ademption, blended families, potential claims on the estate, capacity issues, how real property is registered and the interplay with your EPA - just to mention a few issues. you won't get that advice at the PT...

Not sure what's up with you lot.

I bought a will on Seabreeze.com.au. Ease as, no hassle, dead simples.

Don't you'se remember that guy who was selling driver's licenses, international diplomas, passports and travel visas ?

I gave him a call, nice bloke, didn't speak English too well though. He told me he had a discount on wills as well. So I sent him my bitcoin wallet and he is sending me a new driver's license (I lost my last one due to "lack of attention on the road" or some dumb crap the copper said, when all I was doing was reaching over to turn off my lane assist button) and also a legally certified will. How easy is that ?

It is taking a while to arrive, but he assures me that is just the post, due to Covid or something. It will be here any day now.

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MickPC said..
My wife & I made a will 2 years ago. The public trustee we saw in Perth simplified the process for us & it cost about $500 for the 2 of us.

It allowed us to specify & correctly write exactly what we wanted to do. We made my sister the executor & the will is stored in the West Australian Will Bank.

The only problem using the trustee I can envisage is if you were unable to nominate an executor coz then the annual fees for the trustee or whoever it is in that organisation get very costly. But for us it was a simple, cheap yet safe way for us to make a will.

Read the Public Trustee WA reviews on Google. You'll have second thoughts on your $500 bargain price . One poster claims to be beyond the $11 K mark now with no progress and no communication.

People can't get away with making false claims like that so the reviews have to be true. Some are shocking !!!

The main complaint seems to be no communication , not answering the phone along with milking the estate with fees and charges .

You don't get that much smoke where there's no fire .

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MickPC said..
My wife & I made a will 2 years ago. The public trustee we saw in Perth simplified the process for us & it cost about $500 for the 2 of us.

It allowed us to specify & correctly write exactly what we wanted to do. We made my sister the executor & the will is stored in the West Australian Will Bank.

The only problem using the trustee I can envisage is if you were unable to nominate an executor coz then the annual fees for the trustee or whoever it is in that organisation get very costly. But for us it was a simple, cheap yet safe way for us to make a will.

Whichever one of you that shuffles off first will never have a problem with them, the other will come to learn why there are so many crap reviews.
If by chance you both depart at the same time then whoever is next in line will probably develop a severe distrust/dislike for those that are administering the will and possibly those that put them in the situation.

Both my parents are gone, both had public trustee wills and we discussed all the hard issues amongst family that grew out of going through the process. We had no issues, probs or dramas as everything was clear and agreed to when the inevitable happened. Now have the same conversations every couple of years with our own kids... YES, we actually talk about life and death, none of us do small talk very well...

I reckon majority of the negative noise says as much about inter-family relationships than how a will is/was drawn up.

My experience with my mum was to set up "power of attorney" through the public trust and noticed that the person that you dealt with 6 months previous had left but not really a problem.
Otherwise you get bank check or cash so that hadn't kept pace with technology.
I'm in New Zealand and our laws are similar but there are exceptions.
Recently we opened a bank account for teenage daughter and I was going to be a signatory of course teenager questioned why and then I explained that she would end up being a signatory on my account in my later years.

"Daughter - I need a new board"
"Dad you already have too many you old fool, you're not getting another one"!