"It might sound macabre but what's the plan in your household when one of you dies? Are your bank accounts set up so it will be easy for your spouse/life partner to continue to have access to cash? Do you both know the passwords for banking and share broking, as well as where everything is filed?"
A cavalier approach to drawing up a will can mean legal and financial headaches for beneficiaries, writes Kate Cowling
When wealthy Sydney philanthropist Virginia Kahlbetzer died in 2013, she left a final bequest to the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. Now her 49-year-old son, John, a wealthy businessman and resident of Monaco, is chasing a share of his mother's estate in the NSW Supreme Court for his "maintenance and advancement in life".
"Managing an inheritance is an emotional and financial challenge which, until now, most beneficiaries only have to deal with once. But an aging population and increasing rates of dementia-related illnesses could mean a two-stage process for many family members."