August 2009 - The Police Association Victoria

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17 The importance of having a current will Given the nature and culture of policing duties it is important that members of The Police Association have a current and valid will which accurately reflects their final wishes in the unfortunate event of death. It is surprising after years of hard work and the accumulation of assets, large or small, that many members do not have a current will. Why have a will? Having a will is not compulsory; however a will offers many benefits. Advantages of having a will include: • You can help to make sure your assets go to the people you want to benefit. If you don’t have a will, your estate is distributed according to the laws of intestacy. For example if you have a spouse and children, in Victoria, your spouse would be entitled to the first $100,000, and one-third of the balance, of your estate. Would this suit you if you were the surviving spouse? (Please note: This does not apply to “jointly” owned property). • You can help ensure your beneficiaries inherit at a time when you think they will be better able to manage it. Without a will a beneficiary is entitled to inherit at age 18. With a will you can specify a later age or even stagger the giving of the inheritance. • You can leave out of your will, people who would inherit under intestacy. (However they may still have a right to challenge your will.) • You can choose the executor and trustee. This may be very important if you have young children or a disabled child and the trustee must manage funds for a long time. • Your estate may incur fewer fees and be administered more quickly. • You can document who you want to be the guardian of your children. • You may have more assets than you think. Some people say “I don’t need a will because I don’t have much.” However most people have some assets they may have overlooked or forget about proceeds that are payable on their death, such as life insurance and superannuation death benefits. While a person may not have much today, on death their estate could be quite valuable. Having a valid will In Victoria, to have a valid will the willmaker must comply with the Wills Act otherwise it could be invalid: • the will must be in writing and signed and dated by the will maker; and • the signature is made with the willmaker’s intention of executing the will; and • the signature of the willmaker is witnessed by two adult persons; and • it is important that the willmaker has the proper capacity to understand what he or she is doing to ensure the will is valid. Effect of marriage and divorce on your will If you have a will and you marry, your will is revoked and your estate may be distributed under the intestacy laws. It is important to note that a will is not revoked by separation or divorce. However divorce will result in any gift to the now divorced spouse being revoked, and the rest of the will remaining valid. When your circumstances change you should consider updating your will. If your executors become elderly or die, or there are changes in your assets, you may need to update your will to take these matters into account. If you would like to create or update your will, or, would like any advice in regards to wills, you can contact The Police Association on (03) 9495 6899 or 1800 800 537 (outside Melbourne metro only) for a referral to Slater & Gordon. Need a new will? Association members and their partners are able to have a will drawn up free* as part of their membership. Simply call The Police Association to be referred to our lawyers, Slater & Gordon. You can contact the Association’s Welfare Officer on (03) 9495 6899 for further information about this service. *Costs may be incurred depending on the complexity of the will. www.tpav.org.au The Police Association Journal August 2009
18 Police Federation of Australia News Police Ministers Back A National Police Registration Working Party On 19 June the Police Federation of Australia (PFA) made a presentation to the Ministerial Council on Police and Emergency Management – Police (MCPEMP) proposing a National Police Professional Registration Scheme. As part of that presentation, the PFA recommended that the Ministerial Council establish a working party, which would include the PFA, to further develop our proposal. The key elements of the presentation included – • The fact that police associations and unions in each jurisdiction have signed on to the framework for a national police registration scheme. • The PFA sees the proposal as: • ‘protecting our patch’ e.g. from the private security industry; • boosting the standing of the policing profession; • developing national standards of education and continuing education and a national code of conduct and ethics; • facilitating mobility for our members; • taking the opportunity to move directly to a single national scheme because we don’t have State and Territory registration schemes; and • allowing the PFA to be a key player in developing the profession nationally. • For governments and police agencies would benefit by: • police being held in higher esteem by the community • having an established national code of conduct and ethics being applied • educational qualifications, entry requirements and continuing professional development requirements established nationally • mobility between jurisdictions being made as seamless as possible • overseas recruits being assessed nationally for suitability and educational qualifications by a single national body. The key elements of the framework include: • national registration of police • national accreditation of education and training • independent national police registration board • model legislation by the Commonwealth and each jurisdiction. The PFA proposal ensures that no current Police Acts & Regulations will be affected. It doesn’t require any jurisdiction to change the way it operates, therefore there is no loss of control. Registration on its own does NOT guarantee employment and Commissioner’s ‘hiring and firing’, and disciplinary regimes remain the same. We would like however to see all jurisdictions with effective safeguards for police officers in their misconduct regimes, but our Framework does not require that. Following the presentation, the Ministerial Council carried the following resolution: “MCPEMP agree to set up a working party to report back on progress in 2010 on the feasibility of a proposal for a National Police Registration Board taking into account: 1. cost implications; 2. encouraging basic standards to enable inter-jurisdictional mobility; 3. Chief Commissioners have full employment and discipline power, including setting of standards in their jurisdiction; and 4. automatic deregistering of any member dismissed in a jurisdiction. MCPEMP agree that Senior Officers Group should establish the Working Party and include the PFA. This means that Ministers and their police forces and departmental policy advisers will be participants in developing a scheme that suits all jurisdictions and the working party will be coordinated through the Ministerial council on the Administration of Justice Secretariat in the Federal Attorney General’s Department. August 2009 The Police Association Journal www.tpav.org.au
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Page 11 and 12: 12 Black Saturday Who was in charge
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August 2009 - The Police Association Victoria

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