Having appropriate legal documentation in place can give you peace of mind and help to reduce the stress on loved ones after you die.
The more unresolved matters and unanswered questions, the harder it will be for your family, at a time when they will also be grieving. Organising legal planning documents such as Wills and Powers of Attorney can be a good way of reducing your own fear and anxiety about death.
Discussing “what do you want to happen when…” scenarios opens the conversation for important discussion around difficult topics. If these issues are discussed early, requests are known and can be supported throughout the journey.
Planning might also include writing down what you want to happen with your medical care and detailing what you want for your farewell or memorial service. There are many other practical things a family needs to know after somebody dies, which can all be captured in a Go With Grace Plan.
The importance of creating a will
Many people have a lawyer involved when making a will because they can offer expert guidance and advice around risks relating to property and relationship law, depending on what happens when your loved one dies.
If you and your loved one are unfamiliar with property or relationship law and your loved one has a blended family or previous relationships and multiple assets (e.g. a business, Trust, properties), getting support from a lawyer could ensure things run much more smoothly after you are gone.
Before you visit a lawyer, it can be a good idea to think about some of the difficult questions you will get asked when you are creating your will, for example, what do you want to have happen to your children after you die. You can then feel more prepared and have some decisions already made. This will make the process less stressful and also more cost effective.
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Recording and sharing final wishes
When somebody dies, unanswered questions and missing information can make life so much harder for families and loved ones that it needs to be. The Go With Grace Planning Tool has been thoughtfully designed to capture key information to help families after the loss of a loved one, so they can honour their loved one’s wishes and they can finalise their estate.
With sections such as About Me, Health, Life Admin, Digital, My Farewell and Personal Wishes, working through the tool will prompt you, or your loved one, to think about end-of-life plans and important things family and friends should know when the time comes.
You can assist your loved one by completing it with them, on their behalf. This can be done over time – your loved one’s plan will be saved and you can continue to come back to it as you have the time and energy. When you are ready, this plan can be shared with key people such as children, close family, your lawyer and your doctor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once a person dies, any bank accounts in their sole name will be frozen, until the lawyers acting for your loved one’s estates can confirm how any funds in such accounts will be managed or distributed. Joint accounts are not usually frozen because they are in two or more people’s names.
As part of your later life planning, you might want to ensure you have at least one account in both your and your partners name. This will ensure there will still be money available when you die, until your will and estate are resolved.
Under this document you can appoint someone to have the authority to act for you and sign documents on your behalf in relation to property and financial matters. This document can be prepared for a specific transaction, for example if you were overseas, or it can be a more general power to act on all property matters. This type of power of attorney ceases to have effect if you lose mental capacity.
An EPoA is enduring because they continue to operate if you lose mental capacity. There are two different enduring power of attorney documents:
– A property enduring power of attorney is a person or persons with authority to act on your property and financial affairs.
– A personal care and welfare attorney is a person who can make your care and medical decisions in the event that you have lost mental capacity.
More about EPoAs…
There is no official register of organ and tissue donors in New Zealand but if you wish to be a donor this can be recorded on your driver’s licence by ticking ‘Donor’ in question 4C on your application or renewal form. The word ‘Donor’ will then be printed on your licence.
However, you should always discuss your wishes with your immediate family so that they are aware of why organ donation is important to you. Generally, the discussions about organ donation following a death are between doctors and the immediate family.
An advance care plan helps you to write down your current and future healthcare wishes. It contains information about your personal, cultural and spiritual values, and your instructions and wishes for health treatment and end of life care to be followed if you are unable to communicate these yourself. This includes consent for care you would like, and your refusal of treatments you would not like, to receive.
To establish your plan as an official document, you need to discuss it with a healthcare professional and include their contact details and signature on your plan. Doing this confirms that you were competent at the time you created your plan, that you discussed care choices you might face, that you based your plan on adequate information and that your plan was made voluntarily.
More about advance care planning…
News and Stories
Planning Ahead for Later Life
The holiday break often brings whānau together, creating space for kōrero we don’t typically make time for. Did any conversations come up this holiday season about:What matters to you as you age?; Your wishes if you were to get sick?; What a good death might look like for you? We've put together five simple steps to get your planning journey started.
27 January 2026
News
