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New Zealand Lost Will Register
When people die without a Will they die “intestate”, which simply means when someone dies without a valid Will in place. Sometimes, the deceased may have made a Will but it is lost. More often, many New Zealanders simply have not got around to preparing a Will or they have misconceptions about who will inherit their assets after they die and how straightforward and quick that process will be.
When a person dies without leaving a valid Will, their property (called their ‘estate’) must be distributed according to certain rules in accordance with the Administration Act. These are called the ‘intestacy rules’. The intestacy rules determine how the deceased’s estate will be distributed, which may not be the same as the wishes of the deceased as expressed in a Will.
Administration Act link: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1969/0052/latest/whole.html#DLM393300
