Auchinvole Chris: Wills Bill — In Committee 
Auchinvole Chris: Wills Bill — In Committee 
[Volume:639;Page:9802] 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE (National) 
: 
 It is a great pleasure to stand to speak after my parliamentary colleague who has just spoken so well. “the statement made by a will-maker— 
Hon Member 
: And so briefly. 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: —indeed it was brief and I liked the points she made—“of how they want their property to be dealt with once they have died” was the definition of a will just given by my colleague Dr Richard Worth. I thought he spoke singularly well—indeed all people have. They speak of course from a legal perspective and I welcome the invitation of my colleague Chris Finlayson to give a layperson’s point of view. 
Hon Clayton Cosgrove 
: Oh this will be good. 
Hon Member 
: Intelligent! 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: I thank the member. Intelligent—I do not know if I would fit the category but I will just give an opinion anyway. 
Wills become a fixation for some people. As Dr Worth said and it is worth repeating this is in fact an arcane law that is of great significance and one that has been a huge earner for sections of the legal profession. 
I note that the Minister has a tendency to make light of the points made by Dr Worth and he was I thought slightly demeaning in the way he reflected on the ability of laypeople to voice their understanding of the technicalities of this bill. Well I am a layperson and the Minister can choose to snigger if he so chooses at my interpretation and understanding of this bill but I thoroughly enjoyed being part of the Justice and Electoral Committee to work through it. 
I would like to pay tribute—and I have mentioned this to my colleague Mr Finlayson—to the explanations that were given to us by the officials who attended the select committee because it was an incredibly technical bill to a layperson. It was incredibly technical but it was made very very plain. I am happy to say that I am very pleased with the result. I think it will make things far easier for people to understand. 
It is not uncommon for me to have people come to me in Greymouth and in Motueka in the ever-increasingly marginal seat of West Coast - Tasman. They come in to see me because they cannot understand their position in a will. I suggest that they best see a solicitor but they are people of incredibly tight means and they do not even know how to go about doing that. So it is very important that wills be straightforward. 
I remember taking an overseas client who owned property in New Zealand to see a member of the legal profession—who was my own solicitor and a really good one—in Auckland. I said that my friend wished to make a will for his New Zealand property that would have effect in New Zealand. He started to detail all the things that he wanted in it and I remember the lawyer asking “How much of your life do you wish to control from the grave?”. 
Bob Clarkson 
: Did you say “good lawyer”? 
CHRIS AUCHINVOLE 
: Yes he was; they do exist. They do exist I say to Mr Clarkson. If wills get too complex and if people try to control too much from the grave wills are not going to work. So straightforward wills in straightforward language are a great advantage to the people of New Zealand and I certainly support this bill. Thank you.