A worthwhile read! And while the article focuses on the importance of having a will, it also points to the need for adequate planning around risk protection and more importantly the Enduring Power of Attorney. If you'd like financial advice or a review of your situation, get in touch with our team of mortgage advisers.

A woman who lost her husband in a car accident had to take in strangers to help pay her mortgage and use an inheritance to stay afloat financially, after he died without a will.

It's just over 10 years since Amanda Wilton-Skinner's husband Benedict was killed while driving for his job as a joiner but the memory of it and the impact on her life is still fresh.

"It has been 10 years - but it never leaves you."

Wilton-Skinner was 38 when she was left with a mortgage to pay by herself and a house which needed massive renovations.

"Everything needed doing - a new roof, kitchen and bathroom. It was definitely a big project for him. I got left with that."

And because he didn't have a will she had to go through administration which involved applying to the court to get access to his assets and a life insurance payout which took a year.

"I had to wait such a long time for everything to be processed."

She had to suspend payments on her mortgage for three months and then go interest-only so she could afford it by herself.

"I had to get flatmates in which is a really hard thing when you are in your late 30s and it's your family home. I found that really hard."

Wilton-Skinner is speaking out about her situation as part of Money Week, in a bid to remind people to make a will.

Excerpt from NZ Herald - read the full article here.

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