Your Will is useless when it comes to your Superannuation

QUESTION: After reading about Non-lapsing binding nominations in last week's bulletin, I was pleased to hear that I can control who gets my Superannuation when I die.

My wife and I recently saw a lawyer and had Wills made. We spent a lot of time thinking about who we would like to receive our assets when we die. Our Super is our next biggest asset after our family home.

My lawyer said that my Will deals with my Super. My accountant and your website suggests otherwise.

As I have a Will, is there any need to make a binding or non-lapsing binding nomination?

ANSWER: Your Will only deals with those assets that are part of your Estate when you die.

I now hear you asking what assets form your Estate. Well, if you have a home, investment properties, shares or cash at bank, and they are held in your own name (not in a trust or a company), these assets form part of your Estate.

Your accountant is correct. Like joint tenancy assets, Super is different. It sits alone from your own assets and doesn't automatically form part of your Estate. Therefore, having a Will (on its own) does not give you control over who gets your Super when you die.

Even if you have a Will, you need to make either a binding or a non-lapsing binding nomination. What do binding and non-lapsing binding nominations allow you to do in your Self Managed Super Fund (SMSF)? Only these allow you to force the trustee to hand over your Super to your loved ones at death.

If you would like your Super to form part of your Estate assets, you can simply nominate "my Estate" when making your binding or non-lapsing binding nomination. If you nominate "my Estate", your Super is then distributed according to your Will. Talk to your account, financial planner and lawyer about whether you should nominate "my Estate" when making your binding or non-lapsing binding nomination.

Unless your Super Deed came from us, there is no guarantee that it allows for a "Binding Nomination". You can update your Super Deed for $99 at LawCentral. If you wish to do better than that and have a non-lapsing nomination - you can have Brett Davies Lawyers amend your Super Deed for $399.

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