What does intestate mean?

If you die without a Will, you die intestate. Being intestate means that the relevant State or Territory laws of intestacy will determine how your estate is to be managed and distributed.

What not having a Will means

• You do not have a say about who will benefit from your estate (e.g. your assets can be shared with relatives whom you do not wish to benefit).
• You do not have a say about who administers and makes final decisions about your estate.
• Your estate may take an extended period to settle (more than 12 months).
• The cost to settle your estate may be significantly more than if you had written a Will in the first instance.
• The task of estate administration would fall on either an Executor nominated in your Will or, if you die intestate, the role would be delegated to a next of kin (generally the individual who has the largest entitlement to the estate).