Estate Planning Documents Checklist NZ: Will, EPOA and KiwiSaver Nomination (2025)

The full NZ estate document checklist — a will, two enduring powers of attorney, and your KiwiSaver and life insurance nominations — and how they fit together so your wishes actually hold.

Most people think estate planning is just "writing a will." A will is the centre of it, but on its own it leaves gaps — it does nothing while you are alive but incapacitated, and it does not control where some of your biggest assets actually go. A workable plan is a small set of documents that fit together: a will, two enduring powers of attorney, and up-to-date nominations on your KiwiSaver and life insurance.

This guide walks through each document, what it does, and the part people most often get wrong — where their KiwiSaver and life cover actually end up. It is general information about how these documents work in New Zealand, not legal or personalised advice.

TL;DR: A complete NZ estate plan is usually a will, two enduring powers of attorney (property; personal care and welfare), and current KiwiSaver and life insurance nominations. KiwiSaver has no binding beneficiary — above the $15,000 small-estate threshold (as at 20 April 2025) it passes through your estate and your will. Life cover with a named beneficiary pays outside the will. ³⁴⁵⁶

What documents make up an estate plan in NZ?

An estate plan is not one document. For most people it is a short list that works together:

• A will — decides who receives the assets that pass through your estate, and names an executor to administer it.
• An enduring power of attorney for property — lets someone manage your money and property if you cannot.
• An enduring power of attorney for personal care and welfare — lets someone make health and care decisions if you become mentally incapable. ⁵
• Up-to-date beneficiary nominations on your life insurance, plus an understanding of how your KiwiSaver passes on death.
• A record of your assets — accounts, policies, providers and contacts, so the people you leave behind can find everything.

The will deals with what happens after you die. The two enduring powers of attorney deal with what happens if you are alive but unable to make decisions. The nominations and records make sure the right money reaches the right people without unnecessary delay. Miss one and the plan can fall over at exactly the moment it is needed.

For how a will and life cover are structured to work together, see how an adviser structures life cover.

Why does a will matter even if you don't think you own much?

Plenty of people assume a will is only for those with property or serious wealth. The reality is that many "modest" estates are larger than people think once you add up KiwiSaver, a vehicle, a bank balance and any life cover that falls into the estate.

Two things make a will worth having regardless of size. First, it lets you decide who receives what, rather than leaving a statutory formula to decide for you (more on that below). Second, it names an executor — the person with legal authority to deal with your estate — which makes the whole process faster and cheaper for the people you leave behind.

A will also matters for your KiwiSaver specifically. Because KiwiSaver has no binding beneficiary nomination, any balance above the small-estate threshold passes into your estate and is distributed under your will. ⁴ Without a will, that money is shared out by the intestacy rules instead — which often surprises families.

One thing many people do not realise: in New Zealand, marriage or a civil union generally revokes an earlier will, unless that will was made in contemplation of the marriage or union. ⁸ So a will written before a wedding may no longer be valid afterwards. That alone makes "review after major life events" more than a nicety.

What is an enduring power of attorney, and why do you need two types?

A will only takes effect once you have died. It does nothing if you are alive but unable to make decisions — after a stroke, an accident or dementia, for example. That is the job of an enduring power of attorney (EPOA): it lets someone you trust act for you while you are alive but unable to act for yourself.

New Zealand has two distinct EPOAs, and they cover different decisions: ⁵

• EPOA for property — covers money and property: paying bills, managing bank accounts, dealing with investments, looking after a house. You can set this to take effect immediately (with your consent) or only if you lose capacity.
• EPOA for personal care and welfare — covers health and living arrangements: medical treatment, care, where you live. This one can only take effect once you have been assessed as mentally incapable. ⁵

You generally need both, because one does not cover the other. A property attorney cannot make a healthcare decision, and a care-and-welfare attorney cannot pay your mortgage. They are set up while you have full capacity — you cannot put an EPOA in place after capacity is lost, and at that point a family member may have to apply to the Family Court instead, which is slower and more stressful.

This is legal work, so an EPOA is drawn up with a lawyer or an authorised provider rather than by an adviser. We flag whether you have them in place and how they sit alongside the rest of your plan; the documents themselves come from a lawyer.

Where does your KiwiSaver actually go when you die?

This is the part that catches the most people. KiwiSaver does not work like an Australian super fund or a life insurance policy. There is no binding beneficiary nomination — you cannot sign a form naming who gets it. When you die, your KiwiSaver balance becomes part of your estate.

As at 20 April 2025, the practical detail comes down to the small-estate threshold of $15,000. ³ Banks, KiwiSaver providers and insurers can release a deceased person's sole-name asset without a grant of probate or letters of administration only where each asset is worth no more than $15,000. ³ Above that, the provider requires a grant, and the money is paid into the estate and distributed under the will — or under the intestacy rules if there is no will. ⁴

So a KiwiSaver balance above $15,000 generally cannot be paid straight to a chosen person. A KiwiSaver "nomination," where a provider lets you record one, is not the same as a beneficiary nomination and does not override your will. ⁴ Whether your provider is Simplicity, Milford, Generate, Booster, Kernel, Fisher Funds or a bank scheme, the rule is the same — the law gives them no one else they are allowed to pay.

For context, KiwiSaver is also a long-term investment, and the balance you leave behind reflects how it has been managed and invested over time. As at 20 April 2025 the maximum annual Government contribution was $521.43 (50c per $1 you contribute, up to $1,042.86 saved), with a 3% employee/employer minimum rate. ⁷ (These settings have since changed under Budget 2025.) The full picture of what happens to the balance itself sits in our guide on KiwiSaver on death and your estate.

Does life insurance pass through your will or outside it?

Life insurance behaves differently from KiwiSaver, and that difference is the whole point of having it for estate purposes.

If you have named a beneficiary on your policy, the payout goes directly to that person. It bypasses your will and your estate entirely, and the insurer can usually pay within days of accepting the claim. ⁶ If you have not nominated a beneficiary — or the policy is simply owned by you with no nomination — the proceeds fall into your estate and are distributed under your will or the intestacy rules, the same as any other estate asset. ⁶

That is why beneficiary nominations are part of an estate plan, not an afterthought. A named beneficiary turns life cover into fast, directable money for a partner or children — for the mortgage, the funeral, and day-to-day bills that do not pause while an estate is administered. A policy with no nomination loses that advantage and joins the slower estate queue.

What passes through your will vs outside it

Source: Smiths Financial, drawing on the Administration Act 1969 and IRD KiwiSaver rules. ¹⁴

The takeaway: your will only governs the left-hand column. If most of your wealth is in the right-hand column, your will may control far less than you assume — which is exactly why the documents need to be read together. How life cover is set up to do this job is covered in how an adviser structures life cover, and the interaction with KiwiSaver in KiwiSaver and life insurance on death.

What happens if you die without a will (intestacy) in NZ?

If you die without a valid will, you die "intestate," and the Administration Act 1969 sets a fixed order for who inherits. ¹ That order may not match your wishes — and importantly, a surviving partner does not automatically receive the whole estate when there are also children.

Where you leave a spouse or partner and children, the law currently directs: ²

The $155,000 statutory legacy is set by the Administration (Prescribed Amounts) Regulations 2009 and has been unchanged since 2009. ² So if your estate — including any KiwiSaver dragged into it — comes to more than that, a meaningful share can go to children rather than your partner, even where your partner needs it to keep the household running. These are legal questions, so confirm how they apply to your situation with a lawyer.

For blended families the result can be sharper still, because biological and legally adopted children inherit while others may not. The reliable way to avoid an outcome nobody intended is a current will, which keeps your KiwiSaver and other estate assets out of this formula.

How often should you review these documents?

Estate documents are not "set and forget." They drift out of date as life changes, and an out-of-date document can be worse than none — for example, a will naming an executor who has since died, or a life policy still paying an ex-partner.

It is worth reviewing the full set after any major life event, including: ⁸

• Marriage or entering a civil union (remember this generally revokes an existing will) ⁸
• Separation, divorce or the end of a relationship
• A new child or grandchild
• Buying or selling a house
• A large change in assets, including a growing KiwiSaver balance
• The death or incapacity of an executor, attorney or beneficiary

Even without a big event, a periodic check every few years is sensible — to confirm your beneficiary nominations are current, your KiwiSaver sits where you intend, and your will still reflects your wishes. The point is to make sure all the documents still point the same way. A good prompt for when a review is overdue is in when to see a financial adviser.

Who can help you get this sorted — lawyer, adviser, or both?

Estate planning usually needs both a lawyer and a financial adviser, because they cover different ground.

• A lawyer drafts the legal documents — your will and your two enduring powers of attorney — and advises on the legal side: intestacy, trusts, relationship property and how the Administration Act applies to your estate. These are legal questions, and Smiths Financial does not provide legal advice.
• A financial adviser makes sure the money side lines up with the documents: that your life insurance has the right beneficiary nominated so it pays outside the estate, that your KiwiSaver is understood for what it is, and that your cover is sized so a family is not waiting on the estate to pay the bills.

The two work best together. Plenty of plans go wrong not because any single document is faulty, but because the will, the EPOAs, the KiwiSaver and the life cover were each set up in isolation and never checked against each other. Coordinating them is exactly where independent advice across every major NZ insurer and KiwiSaver provider earns its place.

Frequently asked questions

Can I name a beneficiary on my KiwiSaver in NZ? No — KiwiSaver has no binding beneficiary nomination. On death, a balance above the small-estate threshold ($15,000 as at 20 April 2025) passes to your estate and is distributed under your will, or under the intestacy rules if you have no will. A provider "nomination" is not the same as a will and does not override it. ³⁴

Do I really need two enduring powers of attorney? Most people do. There are two distinct types — one for property and one for personal care and welfare — and they cover different decisions. The personal care and welfare EPOA can only take effect once you are assessed as mentally incapable. These are legal documents drawn up with a lawyer. ⁵

Does my life insurance go through my will? Only if there is no beneficiary nominated. With a named beneficiary, the payout goes directly to that person and bypasses your will and estate, usually within days of an accepted claim. With no nomination, it falls into your estate and follows your will or intestacy. ⁶

What happens to my KiwiSaver if I die without a will? Above the small-estate threshold, it is paid into your estate and shared out under the intestacy rules in the Administration Act 1969. Where you leave a partner and children, your partner receives the chattels, a $155,000 statutory legacy and one-third of the residue, with children sharing the other two-thirds. Confirm the detail with a lawyer. ¹²⁴

Does getting married affect my will? Generally, yes. In New Zealand, marriage or a civil union usually revokes an earlier will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage or union. It is one of the main reasons to review your documents after a major life event. ⁸

Does Smiths Financial write wills? No. Wills and enduring powers of attorney are legal documents — please use a lawyer or an authorised provider. We coordinate the financial side around them: your life insurance beneficiary nominations and how your KiwiSaver and cover fit your plan.

General information, not personalised financial advice. Seek advice tailored to your situation before acting. Smiths Financial does not provide legal advice or draft wills or enduring powers of attorney — please consult a lawyer. Craig Smith Business Services Ltd (FSP712931), trading as Smiths Financial, holds a Class 2 licence issued by the Financial Markets Authority and is a member of the Financial Dispute Resolution Service (FDRS). Written by Henry Smith, Financial Adviser; reviewed by Craig Smith, Principal Adviser. Last reviewed 20 April 2025.