Where there’s a will, there’s a way

No one really likes to talk about death, especially their own. But let’s do it anyway.

We’re on the verge of an enormous transfer of wealth that will top $5.4 trillion in Australia alone. That’s a lot of money, and could lead to a whole lot of problems.

There are obvious issues that seem to crop up despite regular warnings. Only 42% of Aussies have a will, while just a quarter have made a legally binding nomination for the recipient of their super balance.

This mix of high stakes and low certainty leads to inevitable consequences. More than half of all Aussies have experienced or witnessed family conflict due to a will inheritance. It’s like Succession, but for an outdated 4 bedroom house and a fistful of Rio Tinto shares.

The phenomenon goes beyond bitter squabbles between increasingly complex family units. 

The question of inheritance is changing how people look for love, with financial credentials adding to an already impossibly long checklist. It is fueling financial abuse of the elderly, as impatience wins out. And in British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s case, it is even causing political angst over a donkey field he bought for his parents.

This transfer of wealth is clearly changing our culture. It’s also entrenching it. This year’s AFR Rich List saw 40 of the 161 billionaires owe their wealth to inheritance. That theme is reflected far beyond the uber wealthy. 

Australia is one of the few major economies that doesn’t directly tax the wealth of the deceased. The influence held by those with most to lose from introducing such a measure will ensure that doesn’t change any time soon.

Many people will soon inherit a lot of money. We’ll all inherit the problems that come with it.