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We both die at the same time

Matching Wills protect your kids even in the worst case.

It's the scenario nobody wants to think about: a car accident, a shared flight, something that takes both parents at once. If you have children, this is exactly the situation guardianship clauses and matching Wills are built for.

Without a clear Will

  • If neither of you named a guardian, the Family Court decides who raises your children — and relatives can end up in a dispute about it at the worst possible time.
  • If your Wills name different guardians (or contradict each other), it's unclear whose wishes should apply, and the Court has to resolve it.
  • Without a Will, your children's inheritance is managed under the Court's default rules for minors, not your instructions.
  • NZ law includes a 30-day 'survivorship' rule: if it's unclear who died first (or you both die within 30 days of each other), each estate is generally treated as if the other partner predeceased you — so gifts to 'my spouse' can fail and fall through to your backup beneficiaries instead.

With a Will

  • Matching (mirror) Wills naming the same testamentary guardian mean there's no ambiguity about who steps in for your children.
  • You name a backup guardian too, in case your first choice can't act either.
  • You can name backup ('contingent') beneficiaries so that if you both die together, your estate goes to the people you'd choose — not a default split.
  • A survivorship clause means your Wills work properly even if it's unclear who died first — assets flow to your named backups rather than to each other's estate and back out again.

Practical guidance for NZ

  • Write matching Wills together and name the same guardian and backup guardian in each — inconsistent Wills are a common, avoidable problem.
  • Include a standard survivorship clause (for example, 'a beneficiary must survive me by 30 days to inherit') so simultaneous deaths don't cause gifts to fail.
  • Name contingent beneficiaries for your whole estate, not just guardians for the kids.
  • Tell your named guardian, and your backup, that you've chosen them — and make sure they're both willing.

Worth getting advice on

Guardianship and survivorship clauses are two of the easiest things to get subtly wrong — it's worth having a lawyer check matching Wills for a couple with children.

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