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HOME
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EVENTS
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Turning
18
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This is the first great legal milestone in your life. You wake up on your 18th birthday and the law now sees you as an
adult. You can now vote, enter into contracts, and do a host of things that you couldn’t do the day
before!
With the rights and privileges also come responsibilities. If you sign a Contract you enter into legally enforceable obligations that you may be held to by the other party. You can buy and hold assets such as property and shares directly in your own name, and with that privilege comes the responsibility to have your legal affairs in order.
What do I need?
You need:
Most people don’t think of getting these legal documents at this young age. But it is usually a reasonably easy and simple matter to get your affairs legally protected at this stage of your life.
Your Will and Enduring Power of Attorney done now will normally be sufficient to take you through your 20’s up until the time your are married. (Of course you should revise your documents if your circumstances change in the meantime).
What happens if I don’t do anything?
If you don’t do a Will or Power of Attorney, then you won’t feel any different tomorrow. Remember: legal services are like insurance, if nothing ever goes wrong, you don’t need to lean on it. But having your legal affairs in order will pay for itself many times over in cost savings and in time, if something should go wrong. Unfortunately, when something does go wrong, it is often too late to put your affairs in order then.
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Obviously you can choose who you
want to leave your assets to in your Will, and who you want
to select to look after you and your affairs if you were
incapacitated.
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We find that most young single adults leave their estate to their parents or a combination of their parents and their brothers and sisters. Parents are also normally selected to look after your affairs in your Will (called
Executors) and in your Enduring Power of Attorney (called
donees).
This usually changes as you enter your 30s and 40s, or get married. As you get older, parents start to become elderly and infirm. At that time it becomes a good idea to start
thinking of other trusted family members who are younger, as candidates for the role of looking after your affairs. And if you get married, you will probably seriously consider selecting your partner as the person to look after your affairs and as the
recipient of your assets.
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3 September, 2010
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