I was listening to the early morning talkback ( Regional Wide Bay/Burnett ABC ) show on Tuesday last and a guy rang in saying that he was recently told that an aquaintance of his had been told that if he ( and everyone else entitled/contributing ) did NOT sign a certain form at the time of drawing up his will or thereafter, subsequently upon his death, his Superannuation entitlement or any part thereof would NOT be paid to his spouse!

This guy sounded very agitated and asked if the presenter could warn all listeners/contributors of this very serioyus annomaly in the system.

The presenter suggested that maybe his show could arrange a discussion night and hopefully someone would be able to advise listeners appropriately ( or words to that effect.....bearing in mind that it was the early hours of the morning and my brain was somewhat fuzzy !)

Is there anyone out there who is aware of this problem and does it actually exist and is this just another case of "it is up to you yourself to find out?"

I am an ABC fan I heard the story, and in my job take super people into the lunch rooms to talk to members.
First yes it exists,that form but as my will changes my form says pay as per my Wil, remember I filled in the form.
Why take the risk? but it seems untrue to me some salesmen are not honest.

Belly:
Could you tell me exactly what the name, title or description of the subject form is?

The guy that I referred to on the "talkback" show stated a particular named form, but for the life of me I simply cannot remember what it was called ( I know it was NOT simply a Will Form !)

What really worries me is that if this form affects one guy, then it probably affects everyone who has involvement in a Superannuation Scheme, consequently everyone should be made aware of the existing condition that could put the succession rights of their particular Superannuation entitlement in jeopardy in the event of an untimely death!

Sorry mate I truly can not, I can tell you its name inferred it was stating your intentions and here I want to underline if you lost the ability to make your own choices or died.
A bit of rubbish surely if your will , a separate document in my case says exactly who gets it.
On this issue my advice, no expert , would be ask your super fund and do it soon.
As a side issue I ask every new member, near beg them in fact ,to update next of kin details on every document, some do not and as a result leave money to long ago no longer liked partners.
Some do not even write a Wil we all die so should do it now

It's called a non-binding death nomination form and is what it looks like - a form you use to nominate to whom your superannuation should be paid to upon your death. This is because superannuation funds do not have to follow what is in your will with regards to directing who gets your super when you die. The Trustees of the fund can choose who gets the money and will normally choose your next of kin (in most cases your spouse).

Anyway, as is clear, the nomination is NON-BINDING, as in the Trustees of the fund can ignore it anyway - but they probably wouldn't as it does provide you with some nice legal grounds if they distribute the funds different to the instructions.

Hope that helps

"Anyway, as is clear, the nomination is NON-BINDING, as in the Trustees of the fund can ignore it anyway - but they probably wouldn't as it does provide *you* with some nice legal grounds if they distribute the funds different to the instructions."

well "you" are dead, so it is left to those "in waiting" for you to die to fight over it

as in Fam Law the lawyers can work out all that for you

the Fee? - as always exactly the amount being fought over

yeah yeah, seeing as you are going to be dead, you probably won't be taking legal action. But the point remains that the super fund is unlikely to act against the wishes of the death nomination - why would they court legal action? Only a moron of a Trustee would go distribute in opposition to the nomination, unless there are good ground (i.e you made it when you were drunk and promised it all to a girl in a bar in Bangkok or some such...)

Just tell your superfund you want it to go to your spouse, put the same thing in your will and forget about it....

Or get yourself a self-managed superannuation fund, where your spouse will be the Trustee making the decision and so is unlikely to screw him/herself over!

Or you can instruct the Trustee to pay your entitlement to your Estate, and then your Will will deal with it. The discretion of the trustee is to help alleviate problems that may arise where someone dies intestate (no will). What this highlights is the need for people to get good quality advice on their estate planning, as things usually arent as simple as you might expect. Oh, and TALK to yur family about your intentions and why you have made certain decisions. Once upon a time this was taboo, but if your spouse, kids and any other beneficiaries know the whys and wherefores or your will, you are far less likely to have it end up in court and lose the lot to the legal profession (tip, get an accountant to review, not just your lawyer, who may have a vested interest in a challenge - note that I believe most lawyers are quite honest, but it doesnt hurt to get a second opinion).

"note that I believe most lawyers are quite honest,"

well I dont know of probate etc lawyers but 99% of Family Lawyers are NOT, and 50% of marriages end in divorce

then given that Super is one of the main reasons Buttercup actually GOES for her DIP [Divorce Investment Portfolio], then the figures say about 80% of those with "good" super get DIPed

Mr Errington SC in his learned article from 1996 ["Having your Cake and Eating it Too"] points out [tongue firmly in cheek] all the authorites are re Qantas Pilots, eg Crapp & Crapp, Coulter, Hauff, Clomp & Clomp [I lied about the last one] etc

but it was West & Green [most famous for the Kay J formula] where this issue came up and bloke was ordered to take out a life insurance policy to ensure that if he remarried and it went to new wife, then the DIPer was still covered

it was of course before the "splitting" amendments to the FLAct in 2001

Countryboy:

Thanks for that information! I downloaded a "sample" page (three to be exact) from the Suncorp website and studied it carefully.

This situation does NOT affect myself, however I needed the information for my Grandson and his Partner to make them fully aware of the position regarding the succession rights of their Superannuation!

Thanks again!