List your assets
Information on creating a list of assets for your will. Find out what to include and how to manage your list.
What is an asset?
Identifying all your assets, either in your own name or with someone else, is vital. It's also important to make sure your executor has your list of assets and liabilities, or at least knows where the list is located.
This can help ensure smoother management of the estate because the executor doesn't have to search through records or make enquiries to work out what your assets and liabilities are.
A list of assets could include things like:
- property or land which may have a mortgage or security on them
- business assets
- cash and bank deposits
- shares
- valuables (artwork, jewellery, vehicles)
- other items like intellectual property, royalties, patents, and copyrights.
Assets can also be held by companies or in trusts that generally require specific advice.
What may not be part of your estate
Sometimes things you think of as an asset aren't always part of an estate. In this situation, you cannot give them away in your will. For example:
- most superannuation and life insurance benefits may not form part of your estate (in the case of superannuation, funds are set up as trusts, with the trustee as the legal owner of the funds)
- if you own an asset as joint tenants with someone else, the asset will pass to the surviving joint owner when you die and won't form part of your estate (it will only form part of your estate if you are the last surviving joint tenant)
- assets held in a trust are held for the trust's beneficiaries according to the rules of the trust (usually set out in a trust deed). Therefore, assets in a trust will usually not form part of your estate
- if you're a company shareholder, the assets of the company generally do not form part of your estate, so you cannot give them away in your will. However, shares you have in the company may form part of your estate and be given away in your will.
Overseas assets
It's highly recommended to get advice from a solicitor or organisation qualified in inheritance laws in the country where the assets are held, and have them assist you in drafting the will, if required.
This is because the foreign country may have different:
- rules about how wills are interpreted
- requirements for making a will valid
- inheritance and tax laws.
Managing your list of assets
As your assets and liabilities can change over time, it's a good idea to keep this list separate to your will, but handy so it can be kept up to date more easily.
And make sure your executor has a copy of the list, or at least knows its location.