Wills
The peace of mind that comes from a properly drafted legal will is second to none. A well drafted will provides clarity to your loved ones upon your passing of your intentions and wishes during an already difficult time.
Your Will is different to your Enduring Power of Attorney. An Enduring Power of Attorney comes into effect when you nominate (usually when you lose capacity) but whilst you are still alive. Whereas your Will is triggered into effect when you pass away.
Our professional team draw on their legal experience to ensure that your Will is properly drafted, accords with your wishes and streamlines the entire process; ultimately saving you time and money. We also ensure that your Will is legal, by complying with the requirements of the Succession Act.
We regularly attend at hospitals, retirement homes and personal homes to visit clients and assist with the preparation of these documents. We You are able to book an appointment with our office online, at a time and date which suits you.
Importance of a Will
The most common mistake people make is assuming that because they have minimal assets or are young in age, that a legal Will is not something that they require. It is wrong to assume that the estate administration process will be simple or straight forward if you pass away without a will. The emotional stress of dealing with intestacy in the event that a family member dies without a will can be a significant burden.
A will is the document which sets out clearly and precisely what your wishes are for the division of your assets and debts upon your death, lists who should be a beneficiary, names an executor and otherwise provides a detailed list of the steps to be undertaken in the event of your death.
Wills can also name who you would like to be guardian of any children upon your death, and assist in the strategic planning of wealth management and asset protection for your family.
Simple or complex - no matter your circumstances, we can help
Your personal or financial situation may be quite simple, or relatively complicated. Regardless, it is important that you have a Will in place should you die. We want to make sure that whatever the situation is, the document we draft covers your specific situation.
Our Wills and Estates solicitor understands the law around business, taxation, trusts, rural and residential land and all other manner of assets and debts which you might have at the time of preparing your wills. This is important as it ensures that your estate planning documents cover your specific situation and the implications of your death on your family in the future.
Testamentary Trusts
Our experienced lawyer is able to talk you through the process of including a testamentary trust in your will for responsible asset protection.
There are a number of benefits to your family should you choose to include testamentary trusts as part of your succession planning. A testamentary trust helps with tax minimisation for the intended beneficiary, can protect in the event of bankruptcy, and can protect the inheritance in the event of a beneficiary separating from their spouse.
Additionally, a testamentary trust enables you to have more flexibility and control around the accessibility of the funds by your intended beneficiaries. This is something that is quite restricted if you simply gift the funds directly to a beneficiary.
Before you decide to include these kinds of will trusts in your estate planning, it is important that you obtain legal advice and understand the whole process.
Superannuation
As part of your estate planning process, our solicitor will also work with you to incorporate your superannuation assets. Superannuation does not form part of your estate and so the Trustee of your Superannuation fund(s) will determine where and to whom your benefit is paid upon your death. Therefore, it is important that this is carefully considered in the planning of your estate administration.
Our professional solicitor can, as part of this process, prepare a binding death nomination form for your superannuation fund. This allows you to formally nominate a family member(s) as the beneficiary of your superannuation.
The binding nomination form takes effect upon your death and binds the trustee to pay your superannuation to your nominated beneficiaries.
Superannuation is a tricky asset to incorporate in your estate planning and so it is important that you obtain specific legal advice from a knowledgeable solicitor. A failure to properly incorporate superannuation in your planning can cause significant expense to your estate.
Our process
We start by having an initial consultation with you. This enables us to understand your situation fully. We learn about your family structure, children, potential beneficiaries, property, assets, debts, trusts, businesses, estate wishes and anything else that may impact on your or your loved ones upon your passing.
We then review any documents that might be necessary and work with any additional professionals such as accountants, or tax advisors. We can also refer you to speak with any experts that will asset with the proper wealth management or future planning that you are wanting to achieve. You can also take this time to decide on any outstanding questions raised in the initial appointment.
Thereafter, we prepare draft documents for your review. This allows you to consider the draft legal document and the effect of same. Our legal team want to make sure that the will accords with your wishes.
You then have another appointment with your lawyer to finalise the draft documents and execute.
Your Will is then legal and binding.
The cost of the preparation of your Will depends on the complexity.
Wills FAQ
Do I need to keep my original Will?
What makes a Will valid?
What is intestacy?
How often should I review my Will?
You should review your Will every 3 – 5 years, sooner if there is a change in your financial or personal circumstances. Changes can include buying or selling property, a change in a business entity, someone dies, marriage, divorce, separation or the birth of children.
A review can be done by simply looking at your will and checking if it still reflects your wishes and intentions. If not, it needs to be updated. A will is updated by making a new Will.
It is important that if something were to happen and you passed away, your Will is up to date with your current situation as this makes it easier to administer your estate and will save money.
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