Between Hollywood movies and television, you might have seen or heard of the practice, after a funeral, of getting friends and family together with a lawyer to conduct a ‘reading of the will’. It might be at the deceased’s home, or at a lawyers’ office, often making for great suspense, or a significant plot twist as the will usually contains something unexpected.
Whilst it might make for great drama, the reading of the will is predominantly a fictional trope for storytelling - but this does raise the issue of confidentiality and privacy relating to your will.
Privacy & Your Will - Whilst You're Alive
Prior to death, a person’s will is a private document. It is a decision for each will maker to decide whether they might keep the contents of their will entirely private, or if they want to inform any family or friends of what it might contain. This deeply personal decision will vary for each person, and might depend on matters such as the will maker’s personality and privacy concerns, their family circumstances, or perhaps controversial terms included in their will. It is up to the will maker to decide whether they might give a copy of the will to family or friends, or simply tell them where it is located. (Sometimes they may not even tell anyone of the existence of their will, which can lead to complications itself, but those matters are beyond the scope of this article.)
Privacy & Your Will - After Death
After death, circumstances change slightly. The executor of the will is then able to obtain the original will, and from there is entitled to release details or a copy of the will to anyone they please. For example, in Australia, it is quite common for the contents of a will to be notified to beneficiaries (generally relatives and close friends) simply by sending them a copy of the will, or sometimes just an extract from the will. It will be a decision for the executors to make depending on the circumstances that they face, sometimes having to contend with estranged family members or anticipated disputes over the terms of the will.
On top of this, the terms of the will can become public in other ways. For example, when a grant of probate of the will is made, it becomes a public document, as part of the court process of obtaining the grant itself. Queensland’s Succession Act 1981 also includes a mechanism by which certain eligible people are entitled to inspect the will of a deceased person (or more commonly, be provided with a certified copy of the will rather than inspecting the original).
As part of your estate planning discussions, you might want to ask about these matters so you can be prepared for any uncomfortable discussions or situations that might arise in relation to your will and estate. Whether it’s a simple concern about privacy, or concerns about controversies or disputes that might arise in relation your will, Ashton Estate Lawyers offer comprehensive estate planning services and can advise on strategies to minimise complications that might arise from your estate – contact us for a free 15-minute telephone conversation and see how we can assist with your estate planning.
Incidentally, if you haven’t seen it before, watch Clint Eastwood’s 2008 movie, Gran Torino – a great movie in and of itself, with the final scenes of the movie concluding with a ‘reading of the will’.
Comments