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Leaving your assets in the hands of fate may be a romantic ideal, but making a legal will is just as important as investing in superannuation or taking out life insurance in terms of sound financial planning. Plus, it protects the future of your loved ones, too.

The trust fund

With strong feelings about the importance of quality education,

Myles and Sam Cronin established a trust as part of their will to ensure their beloved children had access to the very best.

Myles Cronin admits he, and wife Sam, had a head start on most couples when it came to making their will. As a Sydney-based financial planner who had advised others on creating a secure will, Myles took just three hours to run up a will at home using a simple store-bought will kit.

Myles says that while it was important to think carefully about their estate and what they wanted to do with it after they were gone, he believes many people put off making wills because they think it is complex and time-consuming. “The reality for us was that we really didn’t even think about a will until after we had kids,” Myles explains. “A lot of things are automatically taken care of without a will, such as the house, which is in both our names and would immediately go to the other if one of us died. It’s the same with our superannuation and our investments,” he adds.

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The biggest issue for the couple was their children. Sam, 42, a stay-at-home mum and keen artist, and Myles, 46, both placed a high premium on education for their three children Rhys, five, Morgan, three and Bryn, one.

Before starting kindergarten last year, Rhys was assessed as a gifted child. Although he happily attends the local public school with children his own age, Sam and Myles wanted to be certain his future educational needs would be taken care of if they were not around. “Education is definitely important in our family,” says Sam. “We wanted all the children to have opportunities in that area if we were no longer around to support them.”

Myles felt the easiest option for achieving this was to write a provision within the will for the creation of a testamentary trust. Such a trust not only helps guide how money can be spent on children, but it also has some tax benefits. “Our will states that if we both die, our estate is to be divided equally between our three children. The money will be placed in a trust and used at the discretion of the trustee,” says Myles. “We’ve noted in the will that the primary purpose of the trust is the upkeep and welfare of the children, but we have also decreed there should be a special emphasis on education,” says Myles.

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