Most of us don’t like thinking about our own death. But there is a practical reason to do so: when you die, somebody else has to sort out what you leave behind.

They may need to organise a funeral, find your will, contact banks and super funds, deal with your home, pay bills, close utility and digital media accounts and eventually distribute your assets.

They will be doing all of this while grieving.

Here’s what you can do to lighten their load.

Why wills are so important

Good estate planning is about more than deciding who gets your money and possessions. It is also about making the process easier for the people you leave behind.

Having a will is an important starting point. Only about 40% of Australians have prepared a will, with people becoming more likely to have one as they get older and accumulate assets.

You can make your own will – via a DIY or online will kit – but it still needs to meet the legal requirements in your state or territory. Government guidance recommends having these wills checked by a professional.

Legal advice is particularly important where circumstances are more complicated, such as blended families, businesses, trusts, guardianship arrangements or complex assets.

If you die without a will, your assets do not simply go to the government. Instead, you die “intestate”, which means the law determines how your estate is distributed.

These rules differ between Australian states and territories.

In New South Wales, for example, legislation determines which relatives inherit and in what order. In Queensland, if someone dies leaving a spouse and children, the spouse generally receives the household belongings and the first A$150,000 of the estate, with the remaining estate divided between the spouse and children.

That distribution may be similar to what you would have wanted but there’s no guarantee. This is particularly relevant for blended families, people with complex family arrangements, or anyone who wants to leave money to friends, charities or others who may not fit neatly within the legal categories.

Your will also nominates an executor, who is responsible for administering your estate (the assets and debts you leave behind) and carrying out its instructions. This can involve considerable paperwork, financial decisions and dealings with government agencies and financial institutions.

It is worth making sure the person you nominate knows about it and is willing to take on the role.

Every family is different

Families do not necessarily share the same ideas about inheritance, ownership and financial responsibility.

Within some families, there might be different ideas about money and ownership. In others, wealth may come with much stronger expectations of responsibility towards parents, children, siblings or extended family.

Cultural or religious expectations may also influence funeral arrangements, caring responsibilities and beliefs about who should receive particular assets.

What a family expects to happen and what legally happens after someone dies are not necessarily the same thing.

There can also be cultural differences in how comfortable people are talking about death. If your decisions are likely to surprise your family, explaining them while you are alive may help.

The super question

One thing people often don’t realise is having a will does not necessarily mean everything is taken care of. Superannuation is a good example.

Your super does not automatically form part of your estate. Your super fund has its own rules governing who receives your death benefit, which can include both your account balance and insurance held through the fund.

Depending on your circumstances, a valid binding death benefit nomination can direct the trustee (the person or company responsible for managing your super fund) to pay your super to an eligible beneficiary.

It is worth checking your super beneficiary nominations rather than assuming your will covers your super as well.

Read more:
Want your loved ones to inherit your super? Here’s why you can’t afford to skip this one step

Some simple yet important steps

There are also other things you can do to make life easier for your family.

Think about how difficult it would be for someone else to reconstruct your financial life without you: would they know where your will is? Who your solicitor is? Which bank holds your mortgage? Where your super is? Whether you have shares, insurance or cryptocurrency? Which bills and subscriptions are automatically paid?

It can be useful to keep a secure record of this information – either as a physical file kept somewhere safe or a securely stored digital file. It might identify your executor, solicitor, accountant and financial adviser and list your major accounts, investments, debts, insurance policies and important digital assets.

The same applies to your digital life and passwords. When you die, someone may have to close down your digital accounts including email, social media, photographs and cloud storage.

Rather than keeping a written or digital list of passwords, consider using a reputable password manager, which stores them securely in an encrypted vault.

Make sure the appropriate person knows it exists and how they can obtain authorised access. They may not need direct access to every account but they do need to know what accounts exist and where to start.

Have the conversation

Finally, talk to your family, particularly if your decisions differ from cultural, religious or family expectations about inheritance, funerals or financial responsibilities.

You cannot make your death easy for the people who love you. But you can make the financial and administrative work that follows it considerably easier.