My Legacy enables you to organise your end-of-life plan and designate who should access your information to best prepare your loved ones.
Your Legacy will be activated by your Trusted Parties if you pass away or become incapacitated. When this occurs, your assigned Trusted Parties can access your Legacy to view your Statement of Wishes and your entire Vault.
To exclude certain records from Legacy access, mark them as confidential. For more details, see Managing Records.
Your Legacy consists of four components:
- Recommended Records
- Statement of Wishes
- Record Instructions
- Assigning Trusted Parties
Recommended Records
LifeReady recommends creating the Records listed below, which will be immediately valuable for your Executor, Power of Attorney, or loved ones when they activate your Legacy.
If you have at least one record of each type in your Vault, the corresponding box will be checked:
While these records are not required to enable your Legacy, we strongly recommend creating and storing all of them in your Vault for optimal preparation.
Although we provide templates for these records, we also highly recommend having a professional assist you with creating any legal documents.
Will & Testament – A legally binding document that directs how your property and material belongings should be distributed among your loved ones, allowing you to specify exactly who receives what.
Power of Attorney – A legal document granting a designated individual authority to make decisions on your behalf when you are ill, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to make your own decisions.
Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker – A person you have legally authorised to make medical decisions for you. You can only make this appointment while you have decision-making capacity.
Advanced Care Plan – This document lets you share your personal values, life goals, and future medical care preferences with loved ones. It’s crucial for helping them make informed decisions during medical emergencies.
Life Insurance – A policy that protects you and your loved ones if the unexpected occurs. Include these documents in your Legacy so your designated beneficiary can receive the applicable payment.
Superannuation – While your superannuation activates upon retirement, it’s important to keep details updated and share them with your selected Trusted Party in case of death or incapacitation.
Prepaid Funeral – If you have arranged and paid for funeral services in advance, store these details in your Legacy so loved ones are informed. Include information about your Funeral Director, preferred service type, and other arrangements, as costs are typically locked in.
Funeral Preferences – If you haven’t created a prepaid funeral plan, you can still communicate your specific preferences for how you’d like to be remembered, allowing loved ones to celebrate your life according to your wishes.
Message to Loved Ones – A treasured way to connect with those closest to you by sharing how much they mean to you or any special requests you would like carried out after you pass away.
Statement of Wishes
Your Statement of Wishes is a flexible, non-legally binding document that provides helpful guidance to your executors as they handle your estate administration. After you create your Statement of Wishes, it will be shared with your selected Trusted Parties as part of your entire Legacy.
You can write your Statement of Wishes in any format that works for you – there are no specific requirements to follow. If you need help getting started, you can use the template provided below:
[Date]
[Name]
[Address]
To the Executor(s) of my Estate,
I write this letter in connection with my Last Will and Testament dated [insert date]. While this statement creates no legal obligations, I respectfully request that you consider these wishes when administering my estate.
All necessary information for executing my affairs is stored within the LifeReady platform. Additionally, I wish to provide the following guidance:
Items you may wish to include:
- Location of original legal documents
- Specific wishes regarding children
- Preferred minimum age for trust distributions
- Outstanding debts or obligations
- Charitable giving preferences
- Safe deposit box locations and access information
- Concerns regarding potential estate claims
I appreciate your consideration of these matters during estate administration.
Sincerely, {Name}
Record Specific Instructions
In addition to your written Statement of Wishes, you can include specific records from your Vault and provide additional instructions for them. These record-specific instructions will be included alongside your Statement of Wishes.
To add a new record to your Statement of Wishes, click the ‘+ Add Related Record‘ button:
From here, you can search for the record name and then write your instructions for it.
Once you are satisfied with your instructions, click the ‘Add‘ button to save and include it.
Assigning Trusted Parties
Your Legacy requires a minimum of two Trusted Parties to be activated. The Trusted Parties you assign will be responsible for both implementing and approving your Legacy, and will have access to view it when it’s released.
To add a Trusted Party to your Legacy, search for their name and select them from the dropdown list:
Your selected Trusted Parties will appear as individual cards. You need to add at least two Trusted Parties (up to a maximum of five) before you can click the ‘Save’ button to finalise your selections.
