Estate Planning

Your hopes to ensure a secure and practical future for your family’s well-being depend on how well you plan today. Transferring your assets when the time comes – whether it’s your home, your business, your investments or any financial source – takes careful estate planning.

Estate planning is determining how your assets will be distributed on your death and ensures this will happen efficiently and according to your wishes.

It is as much about preserving relationships as it is about the money!

Estate Planning encompasses:
  • Will Preparation.
  • Appointing an Executor of the Will.
  • Determining whether a Power of Attorney is required, and who should be appointed in that role.
  • Establishing a discretionary trust(s).

 

An effective Will should be designed according to your personal and financial circumstances and also take into account non-estate assets such as superannuation death benefits.

What happens if I don’t have a Will?

If you die without a Will, therefore without an Executor, the court will appoint an administrator. It can take months for this process to be completed, and there is no guarantee that your dependants will receive what you may have intended.

 

When should I review my Will?

Your Will should reflect your current circumstances and intentions. The following factors should be used as a prompt to determine when you’re Will may need reviewing:

  • Marriage, separation or divorce, or entering into a new relationship.
  • Birth or death of children, grandchildren or other close relatives, or other changes in your family circumstances.
  • Significant changes to the value of your assets.
  • Substantial changes to the manner in which you own assets, including the formation of a family trust or the establishment of a self managed superannuation fund. (SMSF).
  • If you enter into a new business or change your existing business structure.
  • Changes in your residency status or of any of your intended beneficiaries.
  • Retirement from full-time employment.