By having a will in place, it can save your family and friends money, time, arguments and also help them to understand what you want to do with your remains after you have passed away.

拟定一份遗嘱，可以为您的家人，朋友节省时间和金钱，减少争议，您去世后帮助他们明白您希望如何处置您的遗产。

If you die without a Will your estate will be distributed according to a pre-determined formula and, if your only living relatives are more distant than cousins, your estate will pass to the government.

如果去世时没有有效遗嘱，您的遗产会依照法律规定的方式进行分配；如果您唯一在世的亲戚比堂兄弟姐妹更远，您的财产将移交给政府。

The pre-determined formula under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) basically divides eligible relatives into two parts – spouses and other relatives.

根据《2006新南威尔士州年继承法》规定的分配顺位，基本上将符合继承条件的亲戚分为两部分-配偶和其他亲戚。

A ‘spouse’ is defined as person who was married to the deceased immediately before the death or who was a party to a domestic partnership immediately before the death (which may include a de facto spouse).

“配偶”的定义是在去世时与死者结婚或在去世时已成为家庭伴侣的一方（可能包括事实上的配偶）。

If the deceased leaves a spouse and children, and the children are the spouse’s children, the spouse is entitled to the whole estate. There are additional rules which apply if the deceased leaves more than one spouse.

如果死者遗留下配偶和子女，而子女是配偶的子女，则配偶有权享有全部财产。 如果死者离开时有一个以上的配偶，则适用其他规定。

In basic terms, the order of relatives who can inherit if there is no surviving spouse is as follows:

基本而言，如果没有尚存的配偶，有继承权的亲戚的分配顺序如下：

(i) children of the deceased

子女

(ii) parents of the deceased

父母

(iii)      brothers and sisters of the deceased

兄弟和姐妹

(iv) grandparents of the deceased

祖父母

(v) aunts and uncles of the deceased

伯/姨父母

(vi) cousins of the deceased.

堂/表兄弟姐妹

Summary of executor’s role

遗产执行人的主要任务

Under the will, an executor is appointed who will look after your estate. The duties of your executor can include:

根据遗嘱，将任命一名遗嘱执行人，负责分配您的遗产。 您的遗嘱执行人的职责包括：

(i) Locating your will

获取您的遗嘱

(ii) Collecting all your assets

收集您的所有资产

(iii)      Arranging to pay all your debts

安排偿还所有债务

(iv) Locating the beneficiaries named in your will

通知联络您遗嘱中指定的受益人

(v) Distributing your estate

分配您的财产

(vi) Preparing tax returns

准备报税表

(vii)      Dealing with any court matters

处理相关诉讼事宜

(viii)    Maintaining accurate records of the administration of your estate

维护保存您的遗产分配管理的准确记录

Enduring Power of Attorney

授权委托书

A power of attorney, like a will, is a way of preparing and planning for the future.

授权书，就像遗嘱一样，是为未来做准备和计划的一种方式。

A power of attorney is a legal document that appoints and authorises someone to act on your behalf in the areas of property and financial management. It does not authorise anyone to make other decisions, such as those relating to lifestyle, health or personal affairs; these are covered by appointing an ‘enduring guardian’ (see further below).

授权委托书是一份法律文件，指定并授权某人在财产和财务管理事物中代表您行事。 它不授权其他决定，例如与生活方式，健康或个人事务有关的决定； 任命“监护人”可以解决这些问题（请参见下文）。

The person who makes the power of attorney is known as the principal; the person appointed to act for them is known as the ‘attorney’. Sometimes the word ‘attorney’ is used to refer to a lawyer, but in this case ‘attorney’ simply means your authorised representative, who may or may not be a lawyer. In fact, the attorney is usually a family member or close friend.

授权委托的人称为“principal”； 授权书中指定及授权的人称为“attorney”。有时，“attorney”一词是指律师，但在这种情况下，“attorney”仅指您的授权代表，也可能不是律师。 实际上，“attorney”通常是家庭成员或密友。

While you may be able to look after your financial affairs at present, this may change in the future.

尽管您现在可以照顾自己的财务事务，但将来可能会有所改变。

As a power of attorney can only be made while you are of sound mind, having an ‘enduring power of attorney’ is a safeguard against the possibility of not having anyone with authority to manage your property and finances if you suffer loss of mental capacity.

由于只有在您拥有清醒的意识的情况下才能订立授权书，因此，拥有“授权书”可以防止因意识能力丧失而没有任何人有权管理您的财产和财务的情况。

Having an enduring power of attorney is an important consideration for everyone, not only people who are old or with an illness that may affect mental capacity. If you have an accident that affects your mental capacity, nobody will be able to have access to your assets, such as your bank accounts or superannuation, unless you have made an enduring power of attorney. If you have not made one, your family or a close friend will have to apply to be appointed as your financial manager, either through NCAT or the Supreme Court, which may take a considerable time. It is much simpler if you have given someone an enduring power of attorney.

拥有“授权书”是每个人的重要考虑因素，不仅是年老的人或患有可能影响意识能力的疾病的人。 如果您发生的事故影响了您的意识能力，除非您拥有“授权书”，否则任何人都无法使用您的资产，例如您的银行帐户或退休金。 如果您没有授权人，您的家人或密友将必须通过NCAT或最高法院申请任命为您的财务经理，这可能要花费相当长的时间。 如果您授予某人“授权书”，则简单得多。

Enduring guardianship

监护权

As noted above, a power of attorney, whether enduring or otherwise, enables your attorney to make only financial decisions on your behalf. To enable personal, health or lifestyle decisions to be made, you should appoint an enduring guardian.

如上所述，无论长期或临时，委托书都可以使您的“attorney”仅代表您做出财务决定。 为了做出个人，健康或生活方式的决定，您需要任命一位监护人。

Any legally competent person over the age of 18 can appoint a guardian (or more than one guardian) to make personal, health and lifestyle decisions on their behalf should they lose the physical or mental capacity to make their own decisions. Someone making such an appointment is known as the appointor.

任何18岁以上的具有法律资格的人都可以任命一名监护人（或一名以上监护人），如果他们丧失身体或精神上做出自己的决定的能力，监护人则可以代表他们做出个人，健康和生活方式的决定。 任命的人称为“appointor”。

The decisions that could be made on your behalf include:

监护人可以代表您做出的决定包括：

(i)      where you will live;

您将居住的地方；

(ii)     what medical or dental treatment you are to receive.

您将接受什么医疗或牙科治疗。

An enduring guardian appointment takes effect only when you are no longer capable and are ‘a person in need of a guardian’. If more than one guardian is appointed, you can direct that they make all or certain decisions jointly, or that different guardians have responsibility for different decisions. The appointment can also specify what functions the guardian is to exercise and any other conditions or limitations you wish to impose. It is important to be clear about any limitations you want to impose.

监护人任命只有在您不再有意识能力并且处于“需要监护人的人”时才生效。 如果任命了多个监护人，您可以指示他们共同做出所有或某些决定，或者由不同的监护人负责不同的决定。 您还可以指定监护人要行使的职能以及您希望设置的任何其他条件或限制。 清楚要设置何种限制非常重要。

The above general summary does not constitute legal advice, and is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.

As the above information may need to be tailored to your particular circumstances, you should seek the legal advice of a Tahota Law Sydney lawyer before taking any action in relation to the above information.

说明：本文对澳大利亚的遗产规划只是做出简单的介绍，不属于法律建议。有问题请咨询我们的律师及专业团队。谢谢。