Have You Checked Your Will Lately?

by Dominique Schuh

The Australian share market has followed global markets higher but pared early gains as traders booked profits ahead of the US Federal Reserve monetary policy announcement tomorrow morning. US stocks hit record highs last night led by financials, and after climbing to a 0.9 per cent gain, the S&P/ASX 200 index finished up 39.5 points, or 0.71 per cent, at 5584.6 after Chinese stocks got off to a shaky start and commodity prices weakened. The Australian dollar has slipped lower against its US counterpart as traders await the US Federal Reserve's next signal on future interest rate directions. The local unit had been above 75 US cents on Wednesday morning but by 1200 AEDT was trading at 74.88 - down from 74.94 on Tuesday.

What this means for you:
There may be some upcoming movement in the US regarding interest rate changes, as well as the new president. These events have been in the news for some time now, so share markets have "priced in" possible outcomes and share prices are reflective of that news. Don't get caught waiting for the "next big event" for markets to move dramatically one way or the other – markets are very efficient at pricing in information that's already in circulation.

Have you checked your Will recently? Did you know that if you've been married or divorced, any previous Will is now null and void until a new one is made, meaning you would technically die without a Will until you've updated things. Having a Will gives you control over what you'd like your estate to look like, and it's best if you make this decision yourself, rather than leaving it to the Public Trustee to decide where assets will go.