WILLS & ESTATE PLANNING
Estate planning is not just about writing a will, it’s about considering all your interests whether they be in a trust, superannuation, insurance, business, or your personal name and ensuring that control of those interests pass to the right people.
Your will is of course a very important part of your estate plan. Without a will the government dictates who receives your estate from legislation called the Administration Act 1903 (WA). For example, if you leave a spouse and children, your spouse would be entitled to the first $50,000, because in 1903 you could easily buy a house for $50,000, and the balance of your estate would be split between your spouse and your children. This may leave your spouse in financial difficulty. In addition, don’t assume you don’t have much in your estate, often there is superannuation and life insurance to consider.
Our specialist wills lawyers can draft a simple will through to sophisticated testamentary trust will providing asset protection and income tax savings. We can provide a personalised estate plan to meet your circumstance which might be a modern blended family or beneficiaries that require asset protection strategies.
As part of your estate plan, you may wish to consider who should be your trusted decision-maker in the event you can no longer make decisions for yourself about your finances and welfare. This might be due to dementia or alzheimers or from a brain injury. Having an appointed attorney and guardian will prevent your family from having to make an application to the State Administrative Tribunal for authority to make finance and lifestyle decisions for you.
Our estate planning services include:
- • Simple and testamentary trust wills
• Letters of wishes
• Enduring power of attorney
• Enduring power of guardianship
• Superannuation death benefit nominations
• Trust succession planning
• Business succession planning
