After a death there’s a stretch of practical work no will covers: finding the original will, telling Work and Income, the KiwiSaver that goes to the estate, the bank, the bach, probate at the High Court. The Kiwi Estate Kit is the step-by-step plan for it: what to do, who to tell and in what order, across the first 48 hours, 28 days and 6 months. Plus the folder that puts everything in one place.
None of this is complicated on its own. It just isn’t written down anywhere in one place, and the job of working it out lands on the people you love, at the hardest time. Here’s what they meet —
New Zealand has no central register of wills. If no one knows which lawyer, trustee company or drawer holds the original, the family has to ask around — sometimes through notices sent to lawyers across the country.
In the kit: where the original will, the EPAs, the title and the trust deed are kept (sheet 03).
There's no nominated beneficiary for KiwiSaver. The balance goes to your estate and follows your will. Without probate, a provider may release up to $40,000, but that's at its discretion.
In the kit: every KiwiSaver, bank account and policy on one sheet, for whoever is your executor.
Who keeps the bach (or the crib), who pays the rates, who gets which weeks? How it's owned decides a lot, and written wishes leave far less to work out around the kitchen table.
In the kit: the home, the bach and how each is owned (sheet 07), and much more in the Homeowner's Pack.
An enduring power of attorney names who can act for you. It doesn't record your wishes, it ends at death, and your attorney isn't automatically your executor.
In the kit: where your EPAs are, who holds them, and your care wishes in your own words (sheet 13).
They would, eventually: after ringing round for the will, hunting for account numbers and working out the order as they go. They don’t just need your information. They need a plan: what to do, who to tell, and in what order.
It follows the real sequence in New Zealand, in the order your family will meet it. Three windows, not a countdown: each one tells them what to do next, so no one has to make it up as they go.
The first calls, in order: the GP or hospice (or 111 if the death is sudden), then a funeral director, who registers the death with Births, Deaths and Marriages. Then find the original will and confirm the executor, remember that any enduring power of attorney has now ended, secure the home, and note which accounts are in one name and which are joint.
Tell Work and Income yourself rather than waiting for the registration to reach them: the NZ Super or benefit that was being paid keeps going to a surviving partner for 28 days, then the partner's own rate is reviewed. Use myTrove, the free service that notifies more than 200 organisations in one process, then check each one was reached and write to the rest, with ready-to-send letters.
Probate through the High Court, then the waiting windows that run from the grant: the surviving partner's six-month choice about relationship property, and the six months an executor waits before sharing things out safely. Most estates take 6 to 12 months or more.
One national system: no state-by-state rules to untangle.
Nothing generic, nothing imported: every page is written for New Zealand. Here is every document, as it arrives in your inbox.
The heart of the kit, and the only part you write in. Who to call, every bank account, KiwiSaver and policy, the home and the bach, the family trust, where the will and EPAs are kept, your funeral and tangihanga wishes, and a few words for the people you love. One folder covers a couple.
Nothing to fill in now. It sits at the front of the folder: the first five things to do, how many death certificates to order, the 48-28-6 calendar, New Zealand on one page, and everyone to tell.
The three windows after a death in New Zealand, in plain English, one page per module: Work and Income, myTrove, KiwiSaver, the bank, probate at the High Court, the partner's choice, IRD, trusts, Māori land and the bach.
Work and Income, the bank, the KiwiSaver provider, Inland Revenue, the insurer, ACC, the council, the power or phone company, the landlord or village, the employer, an overseas pension and more. Fill in the blanks, sign, send.
The home, the title and what passes outside the will: joint tenants or tenants in common, updating the title, rates and cover, unit titles, retirement villages, the bach or crib, family trusts and Māori land.
For whoever settles the estate: the role in six plain steps, the clocks that start at the grant, IRD and Work and Income, seven common mistakes and how to avoid them, and the order of operations, week by week then month by month.
Guided prompts and clear sections: no blank pages, no jargon, no legal training needed. Start with sheets 1, 3 and 4 (about twenty minutes), then the rest whenever you like.
It’s not glamorous. But on the day it’s needed, there are two very different versions of what happens next.
Most families who own a home choose the Settled Family Pack. Every kit is a one-off payment in New Zealand dollars, GST included, delivered by email, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. We never touch your estate.
The plan and the folder, done properly.
Ideal if you own a home, or a bach.
For your executor, or if there’s a trust or several heirs.
Not sure? Most families who own a home choose The Settled Family Pack. It’s not a will and doesn’t replace a lawyer: it’s what makes their job, and your family’s, simpler.
Download the kit, read the plan, print the sheets and start filling them in at your own pace. If you don’t feel it helps your family know what to do, just email raphael@theestatekit.com within 30 days. We’ll refund you in full, no forms, no fuss. This is on top of your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
A will says who gets what. It doesn't say where the original is kept (New Zealand has no national will register), what's in your KiwiSaver, how the bach is owned, or what your family should do first, and in what order. This kit is the practical layer that sits beside your will. The two work together.
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