Why you need a will (even if you’re not a millionaire)

One of the investments in your super is backing a will-writing service that makes this important aspect of financial wellbeing a lot easier.

One of Future Super's newest investments is with a venture capital fund called King River Capital. Venture capital is all about investing in start-ups and helping companies grow from nothing to something. King River specialises in artificial intelligence, and our team liked their fund because it passed our due diligence test on the ethics of their approach to AI.

One of the startups that King River is backing is Safewill, a cool digital service that makes it easy to write a will. If you’re young, healthy and really not into thinking about this morbid kind of vibe – well, good on ya! But just in case you don’t live forever, it’s a good idea to consider making a clear plan of what you want to happen with your super, savings and stuff.

But making a will can be a hassle – involving lawyers, witnesses and complicated jargon. That’s where Safewill comes in. This digital toolkit is designed by Australian lawyers to easily build a proper will in about 20 minutes on a computer or phone.

Do I really need to make a will?

Shockingly, at least half of adults in Australia don’t have a will – usually due to not getting around to it, feeling too poor or young to worry about it, or the perceived hassle and expense.

But if you don’t have a will, you get no say in who gets what if the worst happens. Instead, the state will decide. This can take many months, incur large legal costs (swiped from your estate), and create rifts between your loved ones. Not the ideal legacy to leave behind. 

Even if you haven’t (yet) made your first million, everything from your car, pets, belongings, intellectual property and digital assets will be difficult and time-consuming to transfer to new owners if you have no will. So it makes sense to get it sorted.

King River Capital’s King River Fund 3, which backs Safewill, is one of our newest investments. King River passes all our responsible investment screens, and has a strong reputation for supporting tech scale-ups that solve critical problems.

While you might be able to invest in stocks on lots of different trading platforms, venture capital investments are pretty niche and difficult to DIY. So an investment like King River Capital is an example of one of the ways your super can give you exposure to a wide range of diversified opportunities that you might not otherwise be able to invest in. 

Investments may be held directly, or indirectly through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) and other managed investment vehicles.