Over 18? Make a quick will, please. Today. Save your mum some grief. (And beat Murphy's Law.)
Guys (especially) - I am fed up with having grief-stricken mothers contact me because their sons died suddenly in tragic circumstances (car crash, suicide, etc) and they want to apply for letters of administration because there's no will.
Firstly, it's more complicated if there's no will.
Secondly, often Mum isn't the statutory heir - it may be the de facto partner that Mum never liked (and whom Mum blames for treating her son badly), or his ex-spouse who never got a dissolution order, or the baby grandchild, or his teenage daughter that he has never met. There may be an argument about whether there was a qualifying de facto relationship, or whether he was really the father of the teenager although he paid child support. No one needs that turmoil, when they are trying to cope with your loss.
Thirdly, it's dumb. You've heard of Murphy's Law? 'What can go wrong, will go wrong.' If you don't have a will, Murphy's Law means you're more likely to die prematurely. If you do have a will, you're less likely to need it, more likely to live to 93. (No, I haven't researched this statistically.)
So, please, do your Mum a favour, and make a will. Even if you don't make her the beneficiary, give her some certainty.
Do it now, do it tonight, write something simple on a piece of paper and sign it in front of 2 adult witnesses who aren't mentioned in the will. Show the witnesses' full names, occupations, and a phone number or email address for each of them.
'This is my will. I give everything I own to my parents, or the survivor of them if one dies before me. I appoint my friend Joe Bloggs as my executor.' Add the date. Include a statement next to or above the signatures, 'I signed this in front of these witnesses and they signed it in front of me and each other. We were all present at the same time.'
Preferably appoint someone as executor (the person who has to give effect to the will - it can be your mum, or dad, or a friend, or employer), otherwise someone will have to apply for letters of administration with will annexed.
If you have a partner or a child, change the wording to suit.
Then give the signed will to someone you trust, or put it somewhere safe and tell that person where to find it.
No, you don't need a lawyer. If you need something more complicated, use a lawyer to do a more conventional will, BUT do this in the meantime. Trust me, it's better than nothing.
(Note - the photo is a stock image, posed by model.)
Poll: Does the building consent process need to change?
We definitely need homes that are fit to live in but there are often frustrations when it comes to getting consent to modify your own home.
Do you think changes need made to the current process for building consent? Share your thoughts below.
Type 'Not For Print' if you wish your comments to be excluded from the Conversations column of your local paper.
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91.7% Yes
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8% No
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0.3% Other - I'll share below!
Food and product recalls
These items have been recalled during the last month. If you have any of these items at home, click on the title to see the details:
Product recalls
Avanti, Malvern Star & Raleigh bicycles
Yoto Kids Speaker
Anko Kids Pyjamas
Battery drill chainsaw attachment
Industrial pedestal misting fan
Yamaha adaptor
Zero Tower safety harness
Naturacoco moisturising cream
Thule child bike seat
Food recalls:
Maketū pies mussel pie
The Catering Studio cottage pie
Matakana Smokehouse gravlax/salmon
Our Fruit Box fruit juices
ProLife Foods value packs - nuts, raisins.
YY Dumplings & Fu Yuan ready-to-eat meat products
Waiheke Herbs italian herb spread
We hope this message was helpful in keeping your household safe.
Say goodbye to tyre waste
About 40% of the 6.5 million tyres Kiwis use every year are recycled, repurposed, or used as tyre-derived fuel. But the rest end up in landfills, stockpiled or dumped.
The good news is now there’s an easy solution to all that tyre waste. It’s called Tyrewise and is New Zealand’s first national tyre recycling scheme.
Tyrewise ensures that tyres in Aotearoa New Zealand are recycled or repurposed properly, saving millions from going to the landfill.
Find out more about the scheme online.