Now that you've all jumped into the thread to advise that I've called it a 'do it yourself yourself kit', just letting you know there's no need to post it.

Recently bought a house with the missus and need to look at setting up a Will. Obviously don't want to spend a fortune on lawyer fees, and most are stuck up c***s anyway. Are these DIY kits easy to follow and legally binding? Are they required to be certified somehow e.g. Court, JP or lawyer?

Recommendations on Will kits would be great - I've seen costs range from $50 to $400

Cant remember mine, but it was ~$30 from AusPost.

Choice has a few to look at;
http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/money/shopping-and-legal/legal/will-kits/page/diy%20will%20kits%20assessed.aspx

Legally binding for sure, but people can contest it anyway. Even if you get a fancy pants lawer to write it up for you.

Yeah the only time i've ever been involved in a will scenario was when i was a signatory witness to a solicitor-drawn will
Wills are one of those things that everyone *should* have, but very rarely does anyone have a proper, legal, up to date one

As Scooter says. If you just have simple intentions for your estate (e.g., 30% to that bloke, 60% to that bloke, etc) then DIY is the way to go.

Also if you're being responsible you should get Enduring Power of Attorney

http://www.justice.qld.gov.au/justice-services/guardianship/power-of-attorney/enduring-power-of-attorney.

Basically if you're f***ed up in a hospital bed, and you need someone to sort some s*** out for you, you'll need to have this. Problem is once you're f***ed up in hospital you can't organise this.

My gf works in a hospital and so many noobs don't have this, and then their s*** is repossessed, or they can't deal with their bank, or with the government, or with the doctors, etc...

Just fill in the paperwork, so if you don't have capacity to make decisions, your missus does it, and if you're both f***ed, then have a backup person for each of you as well. Get a JP to sign it off. You can also register them somehow to make it all easier when the time comes, but I don't know about that.

if you have money dont do a DIY will..

I know a barrister that specialised in wills and she said she made 3/4 of her money fighting and beating DIY wills... they just don't stand up in a court of law or are so poorly written that a good lawyer will tear through it.. she loves em..

there are so many legal precedents that arnt taken into account when it comes DIY wills

If you keep it simple the diy kit is fine.
A lawyer wanted to challenge one I was executoring and he saw it and gave up.
make sure it is properly witnessed. that's where most fall down I have heard.

If you want to leave out any dependants see a lawyer.

thermite isn't crazy in this thread. EPOA's are important.

Also a good will is worth it. But if you're just giving it all to 1 person, and that person is the only logical person with a claim to your stuff, the DIY one should work if you're smart enough to follow the instructions included.

Be very, very careful of wording your will. Be clear and simple.

My g-grandma left her house my grandma, who had cared for her over that last 20 years of her life. The will was pretty simple - in thanks for the care my grandmother got the house, the other kids got the money. However she included the address of the property (instead of just "the house" or "cash to xyz, all other assets to a" etc), and a couple of years before she died she sold the named property and moved to be closer to my grandmother.

The family she had hardly spoke to for YEARS got involved after the funeral and the result after an expensive legal stoush it was determined that that the will was void, and the estate was divided equally among surviving children and grandchildren according to strength of familial tie (one share per child, half a share per grandchild basically).

These f***wits were prancing around the wake telling everyone they would be praying for people and being such wonderful Christians. Makes me so mad ><

Yeah people going arse up sure brings out the c***iness in others.

I'm a pretty horrible person so noone has ever left me anything. When it comes time for their death I've always mourned their passing and thought about their life.

In other words, if you want people to concentrate on you when you die, and not your things, leave everything to charity.

public trustee does it for free, good service, you just need to make an appt.

http://www.pt.qld.gov.au/wills-epa/index.html

sweet, picked up a couples pack from auspost for $32.50. haven't opened it yet, but i probably should. job for tonight