A will is a legal declaration by which a person (called the testator) names one or more people to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property after his/her death. The will becomes effective when you die, but can be cancelled or changed at any time before then.
Wills are important as an artists' estate comprises all the artist's assets including their unsold artworks as well as their copyright and resale rights, both of which last 70 years after the artist's death.
The copyright of an artist is a distinct asset that exists independently of the physical artwork. Due to the independent existence of copyright, the artist may choose to give the physical artwork to one person and the copyright in that artwork to another when planning his/her estate.
Copyright is very flexible. It means that an artist can decide in his/her will to give a number of people different rights in relation to his/her copyright.
If an artist does not have a will then the laws of each State and Territory say who will get the artist's assets. These beneficiaries may not be the same people the artist would choose. A will gives the artist control over who shares their assets and this can stop fights in families and communities. It makes it easier to work out who should get payments from copyright and resale royalty rights.
