Why Having a Will Matters: Halo Advisers Partners with Footprint

Why Having a Will Matters: Introducing Halo Advisers' Will Partner, Footprint

When we talk about protecting your family’s financial future, insurance is often one of the first things that comes to mind.

But there is another important piece of the puzzle that can easily be pushed down the to-do list:

Having an up-to-date Will.

A Will helps record what you want to happen to your estate after you die and gives the people closest to you clearer direction during what can already be a difficult time.

That is why Halo Advisers has partnered with Footprint, a New Zealand online Will provider designed to make the process of putting a Will in place simpler and more accessible.

Why Is Having a Will Important?

A Will is a legal document that records your wishes for what should happen to your estate after your death.

Your estate can include things such as:

Your home or other property
Money in bank accounts
Investments
Vehicles
Personal belongings
Business interests
Other assets you own

A Will can also record other important wishes, including who you would like to administer your estate and, where appropriate, arrangements relating to your children.

Without a valid Will, your estate may be distributed according to New Zealand’s intestacy rules rather than according to your personal wishes.

For many families, having those decisions documented can make things considerably clearer for the people left behind.

A Will and Life Insurance Do Different Jobs

Life insurance and a Will are often discussed as part of the same financial-planning conversation, but they are not the same thing.

Life insurance is designed to provide financial support when an insured person dies or meets the policy’s relevant criteria.

A Will provides instructions about how your estate should be managed and distributed after your death.

You may have excellent life insurance in place and still need a Will.

Likewise, having a Will does not replace the need to consider how your family would cope financially if your income was suddenly no longer available.

The two can work together as part of a broader plan for protecting the people who depend on you.

You can learn more about building the right insurance plan for you and your family in the Halo Advisers blog.

Who Should Consider Having a Will?

Wills are sometimes associated with retirement or significant wealth.

In reality, they can be relevant much earlier in life.

It may be particularly important to consider putting a Will in place if you:

Own a home
Have children
Are married or in a relationship
Have savings or investments
Own a business
Have valuable personal belongings
Have life insurance
Have particular wishes about how your assets should be distributed
Want to make the administration of your estate clearer for your family

You do not necessarily need to consider yourself wealthy to have an estate worth planning for.

Even a relatively straightforward household can have property, KiwiSaver, savings, vehicles and personal belongings that need to be dealt with.

Why Parents Should Think About Their Will

For parents, a Will is about more than deciding who receives particular assets.

One of the important considerations can be documenting your wishes around who you would want to care for your children if both parents were no longer there.

This is not the easiest conversation to have, but making those wishes clear can be an important part of planning for your family.

Your Will can also form part of a wider financial plan that considers how your children would be financially supported.

That may include looking at:

Life insurance
Mortgage debt
Savings
KiwiSaver
Other investments
The way your estate is structured

The goal is to make sure there is both financial support available and clear instructions about what happens next.

What Happens if You Die Without a Will in New Zealand?

Dying without a valid Will is known as dying intestate.

When this happens, New Zealand law determines how the estate is distributed.

That distribution may not necessarily reflect what you would have chosen yourself.

It may also mean your family has less certainty about your wishes at an already stressful time.

Putting a valid Will in place allows you to have much greater control over those decisions.

When Should You Update Your Will?

Creating a Will is important, but it should not necessarily be something you arrange once and forget about for the rest of your life.

Your circumstances can change considerably.

It is worth reviewing your Will after significant life events such as:

Getting married
Entering or leaving a long-term relationship
Having children
Buying a home
Starting or selling a business
A significant change in your assets
The death of someone named in your Will
Changes to the people you want to benefit from your estate

Your insurance should also be reviewed as your circumstances change.

For example, buying a larger home, having children or taking on additional debt may change both your estate-planning needs and the amount of financial protection your family requires.

You can read more about why regular insurance reviews matter.

What Is Footprint?

Footprint is a New Zealand-based online Will-writing service.

The platform was built by lawyers and is designed to take users through the Will-writing process using straightforward, step-by-step questions. Footprint says customers take around 15 minutes on average to complete the online questionnaire, although the process can be saved and returned to later.

Once the information has been submitted, professional Will drafters review the Will before it is returned for signing and witnessing.

Footprint describes itself as New Zealand’s largest provider of online Wills and works with estate-planning partner Perpetual Guardian.

How Does Footprint Work?

Footprint’s online Will process follows four main steps:

1. Select

Choose the Will product or package that suits what you are looking for.

2. Create

Work through Footprint’s online questionnaire one question at a time.

The process is designed to make Will creation easier to understand without requiring you to work through complex legal language yourself.

3. Review and Sign

Once completed, the Will is reviewed by a professional Will drafter.

You then receive the document to review, sign and have witnessed correctly.

4. Store

Footprint offers secure physical storage for original Wills in a flood- and earthquake-proof location, as well as digital storage options depending on the service selected.

What Does Footprint Offer?

Footprint currently provides several options, including standalone Wills and broader Will packages.

Depending on the product selected, features can include:

An online Will
Professional Will drafting review
Annual online Will updates
Digital vault access
Physical storage of the original Will
Will notifications
Support by phone or email
Access to additional estate-planning services

Footprint also offers options for people who already have an existing Will and may want storage or related services.

Because the exact features and pricing depend on the package selected, it is worth reviewing the current options directly through Footprint before deciding which service is appropriate.

Is an Online Will Suitable for Everyone?

Not necessarily.

Some estates are relatively straightforward, while others involve more complexity.

For example, you may need more specialised legal or estate-planning advice if you have:

Complex business ownership
Trust structures
Significant overseas assets
Complex family arrangements
Specific legal concerns
More complicated estate-distribution requirements

Footprint itself notes that it provides non-advised digital Wills and is not a law firm or a substitute for specialist professional advice. Where a Footprint Will is not suitable, its service may refer customers to Perpetual Guardian.

The important thing is choosing an option appropriate to the complexity of your circumstances.

How Does a Will Fit With KiwiSaver?

Your KiwiSaver is another important part of your wider financial position.

Many people build significant KiwiSaver balances over their working lives but may rarely consider how those savings fit into their estate planning.

This is another reason it can be helpful to look at your Will, insurance, KiwiSaver and wider financial position together rather than treating each one as a completely separate decision.

Business Owners Should Think About Their Estate Plan Too

Estate planning can be especially important when you own a business.

Your business may be one of your most valuable assets, and your death could affect not only your family but also:

Other shareholders
Employees
Customers
Business debts
Ownership arrangements
The future operation of the company

A Will is one part of that planning.

Business owners may also need to consider insurance arrangements such as Key Person Protection or shareholder-related insurance.

Our guide on Key Person Insurance explains how insurance can help a business manage the financial impact of losing someone critical to its operation.

Protecting Your Future Is About More Than One Product

At Halo Advisers, we often talk about protecting the financial future you are building.

That may involve:

Having a Will can complement that planning by helping make sure your wishes for the assets you have built are clearly documented.

Halo Advisers provides financial advice in relation to life and health insurance and KiwiSaver. Our partnership with Footprint gives our clients access to a separate specialist online Will service when they are ready to address that part of their planning.

Make Your Will One Less Thing on the To-Do List

It is easy to put off making a Will because it feels like something that can be dealt with later.

But for many people, the process is much simpler than expected.

Through our partnership with Footprint, Halo Advisers clients can access an online Will-writing platform designed to make the process straightforward and easy to follow.

If you have been meaning to put a Will in place or review an existing one, you can learn more about Footprint and start your Will online.

For help reviewing your wider insurance or KiwiSaver arrangements, contact Halo Advisers.