Naomi Gary

You're listening to a Sharesies podcast.

So we did a survey when we were first looking into the space of estate planning and wills.

70% of

those that participated in the survey didn't have a will in place.

And these are engaged investors who are wealthier typically and have started building their wealth, but they maybe don't have that level of protection in place.

I mean, we've got over a million customers on the platform now, and we've got a really diverse range of customers.

About 65% of our customers are under the age of 40, but we still see 10, 15 deceased estates a week

You know, it's much more difficult to manage those estates when your wishes aren't documented and your family maybe doesn't know what you want to happen with your assets and those that you love.

You know, there's research out of the US and Australia that suggests that if you're a female and you become a widow, particularly if you're younger, you are more likely to end up below the poverty line.

And so this is a real problem.

pressing problem that society is facing.

Also alongside that research, I was finding that there used to be kind of recognition by the government, both in Australia and New Zealand, that there is particular hardship if you become a widow.

And there were certain benefits that they were eligible for.

And both governments have quietly tucked their

that policy away now and you're just seen as a single parent.

So you really do need to protect yourself.

You need to be thinking about life and income protection.

You need to be thinking about wills and how your loved one's going to be looked after if something does happen.

If you have kids, really think about who you want to be to be the person to make decisions about your kids.

Just the important things, you know, like where you want them to have education, if they need to grow up with particular religious beliefs or grow up speaking te reo, whatever's important to you.