A calm overview of the papers and conversations that make things easier for the people you love, and where to begin.
Last reviewed · For readers in Australia
In short
The main pieces are a will, someone for your money, someone for your care, and your super.
A simple list of where things are is what families most often wish they’d had.
Start with the one that’s been quietly on your mind.
“Getting your affairs in order” can sound like a single, enormous job. In practice it’s a handful of separate things, and each one can be done on a different afternoon. You don’t need to do them in any particular order, and doing even one of them is a real kindness to the people who’ll one day look after things for you.
This guide gives you the whole picture first, so you can see what’s involved, and then links to a fuller guide for each part.
The will
Your will says what you’d like to happen to what you own, and who you’d like to carry it out. Moneysmart, the Australian Government’s money guide, suggests everyone over 18 has one. Without a valid will, your estate is shared out under your state’s rules, which can take longer and may not be what you’d have chosen.
A will can also name a guardian for children under 18, leave gifts to charities, and record your funeral wishes. It’s worth reviewing whenever life changes: a marriage, a separation, a new grandchild, or the death of someone you named.
An enduring power of attorney lets someone you choose manage your financial and legal affairs, and keeps working if you lose the ability to make decisions yourself. Without one, Moneysmart explains, someone may need to apply to be appointed to act for you. That takes time, and in the meantime nobody may be able to get to your accounts or pay your bills.
Separately, you can appoint someone to make medical and lifestyle decisions for you if you can’t. Depending on your state they may be called an enduring guardian, a medical treatment decision maker or a substitute decision-maker. You can also write an advance care directive, which records your values and the treatment you would or wouldn’t want.
Advance Care Planning Australia explains that these documents only take effect if you can’t make decisions for yourself. Until then, you stay in charge. Our guide on advance care planning shows where to begin.
Your super and any life cover
Super is usually handled separately from your will. The ATO explains that your fund will generally pay your super, and any insurance inside it, to the beneficiary you’ve nominated. A binding nomination directs the fund, if its rules allow one. With a non-binding nomination or none at all, the fund’s trustee decides.
It’s worth checking what nomination you have, and whether it still matches your wishes. Your fund can tell you, usually through its website or a phone call. If you’d like advice about your own situation, a licensed financial adviser can help.
Your funeral wishes
You might have strong feelings about your farewell, or very few. Either way, writing them down saves your family from guessing at a hard time. Our guide to writing down your funeral wishes has gentle prompts.
A list of where things are
This is the part families most often wish they’d had. Services Australia’s guide for families begins with finding the will and important papers, and that’s much easier when someone has written down where they are. A simple list might include:
where your original will is kept, and who the executor is
your bank accounts, super fund and any insurance policies
your Medicare, pension or Centrelink details
who your doctor, solicitor and accountant are
regular bills and subscriptions
your digital accounts, and how you’d like them handled
You don’t need to write passwords on it. Our guide to your digital legacy explains safer ways to leave access. Our my wishes checklist is a printable page that gathers all of this in one place.
The conversations
Papers matter, but so do the conversations around them. Telling the people you’ve chosen what you’ve asked of them, and why, makes it far easier for them to carry it out. Our guide to talking with your family about the end of your life has some gentle ways in.
If you’re helping a parent
Perhaps you’re reading this for your mum or dad. The same steps apply, and the most important thing is that the documents are theirs: only they can make a will, a power of attorney or an advance care directive, and they need decision-making capacity to do it.
You can help by offering to make appointments, drive them there, and keep a copy of the list of where things are. It often helps to start with the conversation rather than the forms.
Where to begin
If you’d like a first step for this week, pick the one that’s been quietly on your mind. For many people that’s the will. For others it’s a conversation with a son or daughter about what they’d want if they were ever very unwell. Whichever you choose, you’ll have made things a little lighter for the people who love you.
And when you’d like to, there’s another kind of thing worth leaving behind: your stories.
Your state’s public trustee Public trustees can help with wills and powers of attorney. This link is Victoria’s; each state has its own.
A solicitor For anything more than a simple estate, or if your family situation is complicated.
Sources we checked (4)
Each fact in this guide was checked against these official pages on 23 October 2026. Rules and forms change, so please check the source for your own situation.
This is general information, not legal, financial, insurance or medical advice. For your own situation, please speak with a qualified professional or the official body named above.
