Introduction
The End of life legal documents include:
- a Will, which makes known your intentions for managing your affairs after you die
- an Enduring Power of Attorney, where legal and financial decisions are made on your behalf at a time of your choosing, or when you're unable to make decisions for yourself
- an Enduring Guardianship, where health, medical and lifestyle decisions are made on your behalf if you lose capacity to do so.
Planning for end of life is the way you can ensure that your affairs are managed as you want them to be if you lose your capacity to decide for yourself, or you die.
The End of Life planner helps you before you meet with a professional advisor or solicitor by breaking down what is required for complex legal documents and providing information on making a Will, Enduring Power of Attorney, and Enduring Guardianship.
It also includes a funeral wishes planner and guidance around organ and tissue donations.
The planner also provides professional advice options to:
- book an appointment directly with NSW Trustee & Guardian to help you prepare your documents, or
- find a solicitor using the Law Society of NSW referral service.
Eligibility
There are no eligibility requirements to use the planner.
However, when you access professional advice to draw up your end of life documents, you must:
- demonstrate ‘testamentary capacity’. This means you have the mental capacity to understand:
- the nature and effect of the document(s) you're intending to make
- the consequences of the decisions/choices you make in the document(s).
- be aged 18 or over.
In very limited circumstances a minor can have a Will prepared on their behalf.
What you need
To use the planner you need a MyServiceNSW Account, and depending on the planning task you choose:
- details of your assets that could include:
- property
- bank accounts
- business assets
- shares
- valuables.
- the ownership status of your assets, and where they are held
- names of the responsible persons or organisation you're considering appointing as your:
- enduring attorney
- enduring guardian.
How to use the planner
- Select the ‘Start planning’ button.
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Log in, or create your MyServiceNSW Account.
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Choose a planning task.
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Enter the required information and/or check answers to various questions.
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Download your PDF summary.
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Repeat steps 4 to 6 if you want information on another planning task.
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When you're ready to get professional advice, select the 'Find a professional advisor' tile and:
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book an appointment with Trustee and Guardian, or
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visit the Law Society of NSW to find a solicitor.
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Note: You can access the End of Life planner at any time.
More information
- The End of Life planner relates to the laws of NSW only.
- Having your end of life documents prepared professionally can save your estate time and money if there are challenges in court at a later date.
- Life circumstances can change, for example getting married or divorced, buying a property or having a child. It's important to regularly review your end of life planning documents to ensure they accurately reflect your current wishes.
- There are strict legal rules with signing and witnessing signatures for various end of life planning documents. Beneficiaries should not be witnesses as it may cancel their entitlement.
- If you die without a Will (called dying intestate), the law sets out how your estate is shared among relatives, despite what you may have wished. In some cases, depending on how distant your relatives are, your estate could pass to the government.